KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index is likely to break above the 1,700 psychological level in the coming week on firmer sentiment, alongside oil price stabilisation, supportive external momentum and easing volatility, and a turn in foreign fund flows, said an analyst.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said investor positioning has turned incrementally more constructive as the West Asia conflict risks were reassessed, with Brent crude futures stabilising below US$100 per barrel since Wednesday, helping to anchor near-term inflation expectations and compress tail-risk premia.
He added that the sustained rally in the US equities over the past seven consecutive sessions is likely to spill over into emerging markets, reflecting persistent momentum rather than a transient rebound, signalling improving underlying fundamentals and a rebuilding of global risk appetite.
Mohd Sedek said foreign investors have shifted to net buyers in Bursa Malaysia as of Thursday, with consecutive inflows recorded from Tuesday through Thursday, marking an early but notable re-engagement with Malaysian equities.
"This reversal follows a period of sustained outflows and suggests that global funds are beginning to recalibrate positioning as external risks stabilise. The return of foreign participation is particularly significant given its outsized influence on market liquidity and index direction, and may signal the early stages of a broader reallocation into emerging markets, including Malaysia,” he told Bernama.
Another analyst said market participants are monitoring the development in the West Asia conflict, including the US-Iran negotiations set to take place in Islamabad this weekend.
For the week just ended, Bursa Malaysia traded range-bound, tracking the performance of regional markets amid the ongoing West Asia conflict.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the FBM KLCI eased 4.19 points to 1,691.31 from 1,695.50 a week earlier.
On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index rose 8.54 points to 12,259.66, the FBM Emas Index garnered 20.50 points to 12,412.66, the FBM Emas Shariah Index recovered 19.77 points to 12,289.33, the FBM ACE Index jumped 120.06 points to 4,429.98, while the FBM Mid 70 Index surged 180.03 points to 17,320.97.
By sector, the Financial Services Index declined 65.06 points to 19,784.66, the Plantation Index slipped 188.26 points to 8,967.25, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 1.16 points to 185.91, and the Energy Index eased 5.27 points to 813.25.
The weekly turnover fell to 15.14 billion units, worth RM14.39 billion, from 17.79 billion units, worth RM18.83 billion, a week earlier.
The Main Market volume eased to 9.44 billion units, worth RM13.32 billion, from 11.56 billion units, worth RM17.73 billion, previously.
Warrants turnover fell to 4.28 billion units valued at RM529.01 million against 4.92 billion units valued at RM616.50 million last week.
The ACE Market volume shrank to 1.40 billion units, valued at RM544.66 million, from 1.31 billion units valued at RM479.05 million in the previous week. -- Bernama
