KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): Trading on Bursa Malaysia is expected to remain cautious and range-bound this week, as the local bourse continues to be confined within the 1,680-1,740 range driven by the West Asia conflict, said an economist.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said the sell-off has stabilised, but upside remains capped, suggesting investors are holding positions rather than adding risk.
"Current levels, still below key moving averages, indicate that the market has moved past the panic phase but has yet to enter a convincing recovery, leaving positioning cautious and conviction limited," he told Bernama.
He said investors should remain balanced and not overreact to headlines on West Asia developments, as underlying risks remain unresolved.
"This is particularly important as elevated energy prices begin to feed into inflation expectations, reducing the likelihood of near-term rate cuts, while tighter global liquidity continues to limit the strength of any rebound.
"Against this backdrop, the 1,725-1,730 zone is the key threshold, but any break above must be sustained," he said, adding that until then, Bursa Malaysia should still be viewed as consolidating rather than recovering.
For the week just ended, Bursa Malaysia traded mostly lower, tracking the regional market performance amid the ongoing West Asia conflict.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the FBM KLCI eased 17.15 points to 1,695.50 from 1,712.65 a week earlier.
On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index declined 86.38 points to 12,251.12, the FBM Emas Index slipped 73.10 points to 12,392.16, the FBM Emas Shariah Index eased 2.63 points to 12,269.56, and the FBM ACE Index decreased 17.53 points to 4,309.92, while the FBM Mid 70 Index rose 42.15 points to 17,140.94.
By sector, the Financial Services Index tumbled 477.78 points to 19,849.72, the Plantation Index surged 450.54 points to 9,155.51, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 1.86 points to 184.75, and the Energy Index garnered 20.23 points to 818.52.
The weekly turnover expanded to 17.79 billion units worth RM18.83 billion against 12.24 billion units worth RM13.69 billion a week earlier.
The Main Market volume soared to 11.56 billion units worth RM17.73 billion against 7.64 billion units worth RM12.81 billion previously.
Warrants turnover swelled to 4.92 billion units valued at RM616.50 million from 3.54 billion units valued at RM495.25 million last week.
The ACE Market volume increased to 1.31 billion units valued at RM479.05 million from 1.04 billion units valued at RM376.06 million in the previous week.
-- BERNAMA
