Bursa Malaysia seen cautious next week amid global uncertainties
KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index is expected to remain cautious next week, with investor sentiment likely to be shaped by the Federal Reserve’s latest policy decision, developments in West Asia, oil prices and shifts in US interest rate expectations.
Bursa Malaysia's benchmark index is anticipated to maintain a cautious stance in the upcoming week, with investor sentiment heavily influenced by the Federal Reserve's latest policy decision, regional developments, oil prices, and shifts in US interest rate expectations. Mohd Sedek Jantan, IPPFA Sdn Bhd's director of investment strategy and country economist, cautioned that higher oil prices and geopolitical uncertainty could sustain elevated inflation expectations.
Furthermore, changes in US interest rate expectations may continue to impact global bond yields, the US dollar, and emerging-market flows. Consequently, Bursa Malaysia's investor positioning is expected to remain relatively defensive, favoring sectors with more stable earnings and domestic or commodity-linked exposure. This defensive outlook may offer some protection against the potential weakness in technology-focused regional indices, especially if oil prices persistently exert downward pressure on global risk appetite.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's vice-president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng, anticipates the benchmark index to remain in a consolidation phase next week. Should oil prices and US Treasury yields ease, a technical rebound might be possible. However, Thong predicts that the benchmark index will trade within the 1,650-1,680 range during the week, with a sustained move above 1,675-1,680 required to restore substantial upward momentum.
In the preceding week, the US raised interest rates for the first time in over three years, from 3.5 per cent to 3.75 per cent, while the Bank of Japan increased its policy rate to 1.25 per cent, the highest level in 31 years. Oil prices dropped by 1.93 per cent to US$102.80 per barrel, as Brent crude settled at US$105.68 per barrel.
During the week, the FBM KLCI index decreased by 21.18 points to 1,665.56, while the FBM Top 100, FBM Emas, FBM Emas Shariah, and FBM ACE indices declined by 95.27, 84.82, and 15.63 points, respectively. Sector-wise, the Energy and Plantation indices experienced gains, whereas the Industrial Products and Services and Financial Services indices faced declines.
Weekly trading volume decreased to 15.02 billion units worth RM14.18 billion from 18.97 billion units valued at RM15.53 billion the previous week.
Written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
