KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): Bursa Malaysia is expected to be in consolidation mode from Monday onwards (April 22) amid increasing market risks, elevated volatility in global markets, and escalating geopolitical tensions.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng anticipates the benchmark index to further consolidate until new catalysts emerge.
"We strongly advise investors to exercise caution in light of increasing risks in the global market. We expect the benchmark index to enter a consolidation phase and establish a base in the short to mid-term.
"However, a close below the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) could indicate potential weakness ahead," he told Bernama.
Consequently, Thong expects the FBM KLCI to fluctuate within the 1,528-1,560 range this week, with immediate support at 1,520, followed by 1,508.
Meanwhile, SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes projects the local bourse to be on cautious sentiment next week with a slight positive bias following the latest Malaysia economic data.
According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM), Malaysia's economy is forecast to have grown by 3.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2024 based on advance estimates, compared to 3.0 per cent in the previous quarter, spearheaded by the services sector.
"Malaysia's economy rebounded, marking the most robust growth in a year and signalling a strengthening recovery.
"While this positive local data could provide some upward momentum, it is likely that markets will remain preoccupied with the Middle East risks amid ongoing hawkish rhetoric from the US Federal Reserve. This could potentially constrain any appetite for upward moves in the markets," he told Bernama.
He added that the attention now shifts to next week's release of first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data for the US.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the FBM KLCI eased 3.47 points to 1,547.57 from last week’s 1,551.04.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index erased 101.75 points to 11,596.07, the FBM 70 Index tumbled 334.18 points to 16,058.39, the FBMT 100 Index shed 78.97 points to 11,247.95, the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 93.12 points weaker at 11,769.87, and the FBM ACE Index slipped 241.14 points to 4,858.98.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index lost 95.04 points to 7,375.65, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 0.17 of-a-point to 184.49, and the Financial Services Index slid 153.02 points to 17,118.78, but the Energy Index inched up 0.10 of-a-point to 969.19.
Weekly turnover surged to 21.21 billion units worth RM15.66 billion compared with 11.31 billion units worth RM7.39 billion in the preceding week.
The Main Market volume jumped to 12.51 billion shares valued at RM13.95 billion from 5.96 billion shares valued at RM6.39 billion a week ago.
Warrants turnover increased to 5.38 billion units worth RM662.45 million versus 3.14 billion units worth RM354.47 million last week.
The ACE Market volume improved to 3.27 billion shares valued at RM1.04 billion against 2.17 billion shares valued at RM639.45 million previously. - Bernama
