KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama):Bursa Malaysia is expected to trend higher from Monday (Jan 8) moving in the 1,470-1,500 range on persistent optimism for the local bourse.
Rakuten Trade equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said fueled by favourable market indicators, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) is forecast to remain above the 1,465 level for an extended period, a threshold it struggled to maintain several times last year.
From a technical view, the benchmark index posted four consecutive white candles and moved away from all the exponential moving average (EMA) lines, signalling a continuation of the ongoing uptrend.
"Notably, the next resistance level is identified at 1,500 followed by 1,527 while immediate support is at 1,465 followed by 1,450.
"If the benchmark index surpasses the 1,500-resistance line, we foresee additional upward potential,” Thong told Bernama.
Meanwhile, SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said this has been a good week and was quite busier than expected for Bursa Malaysia.
"The week has proven to be quite intriguing for Bursa Malaysia as it diverged from the global downtrend.
"This contrast occurred amid indications that optimism about US rate cuts was diminishing, coupled with the release of softer global Purchasing Managers' Index data.
"The local bourse seems to be charting its course independent of broader market trends,” said Innes.
During the shortened trading week, the FBM KLCI started 2024 on a weak note on Tuesday. (The market was closed on Monday for the New Year’s Day celebration.)
However, bargain hunting emerged following a few sessions of sell-off.
The FBM KLCI then proceeded to trend higher with heavy buying on YTL Corporation and YTL Power International, driven by robust earnings from the group's Singapore power business and optimistic expectations in the data centre sector.
At the same time, investors continued to be keen on blue chips such as banks.
Daily market volume topped 6 billion for two consecutive days -- on Thursday and Friday.
On Friday, the FBM KLCI closed at its highest level in almost a year.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the FBM KLCI advanced 32.95 points to end the first week of 2024 at 1,487.61 versus 1,454.66 previously.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Shariah Index jumped 243.43 points to 11,232.14, the FBM 70 Index surged 446.89 points to 15,059.87, and the FBM ACE Index strengthened 116.24 points to 5,438.27.
The FBM Emas Index gained 273.52 points to 11,097.22, and the FBMT 100 Index was 258.65 points higher at 10,744.37.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 4.00 points to 176.99, the Financial Services Index soared 279.29 points to 16,582.33, the Energy Index gained 22.09 points to 839.82, and the Plantation Index increased 22.96 points to 7,030.92.
Despite the shorter trading week, Bursa Malaysia ended this week with a much higher turnover of 23.54 billion units valued at RM12.68 billion versus 15.11 billion units worth RM9.38 billion in the preceding week.
The Main Market volume grew to 15.41 billion shares worth RM11.11 billion from 9.41 billion shares valued at RM8.10 billion in the previous week.
Warrants turnover rose to 2.93 billion units valued at RM337.98 million from 1.54 billion units worth RM187.56 million last week.
The ACE Market volume expanded to 5.09 billion shares worth RM1.22 billion compared with 4.03 billion shares valued at RM1.08 billion previously. - Bernama
