KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia is likely to trade higher this week, testing the 1,770 level as investors are expected to face an active period ahead of the earnings season.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said the upcoming results are likely to serve as a critical barometer of index-level earnings resilience and reaffirm the banking sector’s position as the most structurally robust segment heading into the first half of 2026.
“Fundamentally, Malaysia’s banking sector continues to benefit from a supportive macro-financial environment.
“Gross domestic product (GDP) growth accelerated to 6.3% in the fourth quarter of 2025, while inflation remained moderate, providing a stable backdrop for credit intermediation,” he told Bernama.
Mohd Sedek also said investors’ attention is on the US consumer confidence data to be released tomorrow.
“Domestically, no major economic data releases are scheduled for the week, keeping market focus squarely on corporate earnings and external developments,” he said.
However, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the market may continue to trade sideways as it absorbs earlier gains.
He said profit-taking in leading blue-chip counters could persist in the near term.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the FBM KLCI rose 13.29 points to 1,752.83 from 1,739.54 a week earlier.
Weekly turnover slipped to 5.88 billion units worth RM6.53bil from 12.87 billion units worth RM13.7bil.
Main Market volume declined to 3.76 billion units worth RM6.09bil from 7.12 billion units worth RM12.5bil previously.
Meanwhile, ACE Market volume decreased to 735.33 million units valued at RM274.35mil from 2.28 billion units valued at RM803.8mil in the prior week.
