“Taking this into consideration, the FBM KLCI is expected to trade within a range of 1,620 to 1,640 next week, ” Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim said
PETALING JAYA: Trading on Bursa Malaysia is expected to be cautious ahead of Bank Negara’s overnight policy rate (OPR) announcement on Wednesday.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim said a possibility of another rate cut by the central bank could not be ruled out, given the highly fluid situation arising from the resurgence of Covid-19 cases and the reinstatement of the movement control order (MCO 2.0).
“Any further cut in the OPR will likely cause prices of banking stocks to drop, which will subsequently drag the local bourse, as banking stocks make up a heavy weightage in the FBM KLCI.
“Taking this into consideration, the FBM KLCI is expected to trade within a range of 1,620 to 1,640 next week, ” he told
Bank Negara will hold the first Monetary Policy Committee meeting for 2021 on Jan 22. At present, the OPR stands at the lowest level of 1.75% after four cuts, resulting in a 125-basis point reduction, last year.
Overall, sentiment in the market is mostly centred on the declaration of a nationwide state of emergency amid rising Covid-19 cases, the reinstatement of the MCO in several states beginning Jan 13, the US stimulus package and the US-China trade war.
Last Tuesday, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong proclaimed an emergency that would be enforced until Aug 1 to contain Covid-19. ─ Bernama
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