KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI, which has succumbed to selling pressure since the end of the third quarter, may be seeing a change in fortunes.
According to TA Securities Holdings Bhd head of research Kaladher Govindan, the local benchmark index is due for a rebound and is targeted to hit 1,800 points by year-end.
He added the index would trend even higher in the first half of 2018 and trade above 1,800 points, before retreating in the second half of the year.
Kaladher said banking and construction would be the top sectors to look out for in the year ahead.
A rise above 1,800 points would take the KLCI to May 2015 levels. For 2017, the index hit a year's high of 1,791.31 points on June 16, following which it entered consolidation mode and traded in range between 1,750 and 1,790 points.
The index dipped below the psychological 1,750 mark on Oct 17, and fell through the 1,730 support on Nov 15. It has slipped about 5.6% since the start of the trading year.
As at midday on Wednesday, encouraged by record-breaking closes on Wall Street, the KLCI staged a technical rebound, rising nearly five points from the previous trading session to 1,725.53 points.
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