KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia is likely to trend upwards next week, with the benchmark index expected to trade within the 1,600-1,620 range amid a recovery in investors' risk appetite, said an analyst.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng expects bargain hunting to intensify as investors take advantage of increasingly attractive valuations.
However, elevated crude oil prices, geopolitical uncertainties and persistent foreign selling could trigger intermittent volatility, he added.
"Overall, we anticipate the FBM KLCI to trade within the 1,600–1,620 range next week, with a mildly positive bias supported by selective accumulation of fundamentally sound stocks," Thong told Bernama.
He added that Malaysia's resilient economic fundamentals and relatively contained inflation should continue to underpin corporate earnings prospects.
Meanwhile, Thong said the recent correction has brought selected blue chip stocks to more attractive valuations, particularly within the banking, plantation and utilities sectors.
For the week just ended, the local bourse traded mostly lower, in tandem with most regional markets, tracking Wall Street performance due to concerns over artificial intelligence (AI) investment sustainability
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.80 points to 1,611.56 from 1,607.76 a week earlier.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index added 1.18 points to 11,993.45, the FBM Top 100 Index increased 10.84 points to 11,797.61, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index garnered 23.70 points to 11,943.57.
The FBM ACE Index dipped 84.93 points to 5,346.14 and the FBM Mid 70 Index decreased 55.61 points to 17,170.33.
By sector, the Energy Index advanced 13.67 points to 834.67, the Plantation Index gained 44.60 points to 8,677.48, and the Industrial Products and Services Index climbed 2.61 points to 175.4. The Financial Services Index tumbled 97.50 points to 18,654.32.
Weekly turnover fell to 14.21 billion units worth RM12.55 billion from 16.41 billion units worth RM15.57 billion in the previous week.
The Main Market volume decreased to 7.68 billion units valued at RM11.15 billion versus 9.58 billion units valued at RM13.89 billion previously.
Warrants turnover declined to 4.15 billion units worth RM514.80 million against 4.23 billion units worth RM573.41 million a week ago.
The ACE Market volume slipped to 2.37 billion units valued at RM889.53 million from 2.60 billion units valued at RM1.01 billion in the previous week.
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