KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia is expected to continue its momentum next week, with the key index to move in a tight range amid cautious market sentiment.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim said the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) will likely move between 1,600 and 1,615 points.
“This is because investors will seek to find a balance between the nation’s vaccination progress and the recent uptick in Covid-19 cases, which is signalling a fourth wave,” he told Bernama.
On the external front, he said there will not be many major events next week, but the European Central Bank meeting on Thursday will likely provide guidance on bond purchasing moving forward.
He said many countries, including Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom and Malaysia, will release their consumer price index data next week.
“Malaysia is likely to record a stronger year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in March compared with the 0.1% y-o-y growth in February amid a low base effect, mainly due to the movement control order (MCO) in March last year.”
For the week just ended, the local bourse started on a weak note largely due to profit-taking in telecommunications giants Axiata and Digi, with the stocks heavily traded a week earlier on possible merger news.
The momentum continued on Tuesday with FBM KLCI settling below its 1,600 psychological level due to selling by foreign investors amid a weak market sentiment brought about by the extension of the conditional MCO and recovery MCO in several states.
Bursa rebounded the next day onwards thanks to strong gains in rubber glove counters, as buying interest resurfaced with Covid-19 infections in the country continuing to show an upward trend.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, FBM KLCI decreased by 3.87 points to 1,608.38 from 1,612.25. – Bernama, April 17, 2021
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