Kenanga: Capital market could see excitement ahead of GE14

KUALA LUMPUR: The capital market may see some “excitement” ahead of the 14th General Election, as the polls could set the tone for market sentiment, according to Kenanga Investment Bank managing director Datuk Chay Wai Leong.
“If we talk about the stock market, the excitement will always be caused by the election. The elections is next year so we have more excitement in the market,” Chay told reporters on the sidelines of the grand finale of the third edition of the “Kenanga KenTrade Challenge” held at Bursa Malaysia’s Listing Gallery today.
He added that although the capital market is affected by the fundamentals such as economic performance, market sentiments can be seen as a bigger factor.
Also commenting on foreign fund selling on Bursa Malaysia, which recently hit the highest at RM967.3 million, Chay said foreign selling and buying have little to do with stock market traders being doubtful over the Malaysian economy or the market, instead it could be attributable to the sellers moving on after getting the valuation they were seeking for certain stocks.
With the number of initial public offerings (IPOs) this year surpassing that of last year, Chay said he is positive that the trend could continue into 2018, noting that the better IPO market is attributable to the improved market sentiments.
Thus far, there had been a total of 10 listings on both the Main Market and ACE Market, and one on the newly launched LEAP Market. Last year some 12 companies made their bourse debuts.
Kenanga has seen 5,000 sign-ups and some RM100 billion transacted in assets through its iSpeed mobile application, four months since the launch in May.
The application was developed by Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd, a joint venture company between Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd and Japan’s Rakuten Securities Inc. It allows users to open Central Depository System accounts online and trade on the local bourse.
Earlier, Kenanga announced that full-time trader Mohd Fairi Che Wanik, 40, walked away with the grand prize of the KenTrade Challenge. He took home RM50,000 cash and a trip for two to Hokkaido, Japan.
The seasoned trader, who made 15% returns in the month-long challenge, said the key to success in trading is to do research and understand the sectors that one intends to invest.
He also noted that it is important to understand which company in the sector that is sustainable and to look at undervalued companies and focus on long-term investments.
Coming in second is programmer Teng Le Woi, 47, who had been trading since the 90’s. According to Teng, success in trading requires patience, and should not be treated as a get-rich-quick scheme.
Teng took home RM18,000 and AirAsia passes for two to Asean, whereas the second runner-up was 28-year-old Caryn Choo, who took home RM10,000 and AirAsia passes for two to Asean.
The challenge, which saw 25,000 entries this year against 18,000 last year, went on between Aug 31 and Sept 29, and the ones with the highest portfolio value emerged as the winners.