Upward momentum on Bursa Malaysia to continue next week

KUALA LUMPUR: The upward trajectory on Bursa Malaysia will likely continue next week as investors are set to accumulate their positions on the back of positive developments globally.
Affin Hwang Investment Bank Vice-President and Head of Retail Research, Datuk Dr Nazri Khan Adam Khan said the local market would be actively traded as investors' appetite was restored as worries over the geopolitical tension related to the North Korea and Syria had eased.
He said the US tax reform, as indicated by the Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that the White House planned to release a tax plan "very soon", would be among the main focus next week.
"If Trump managed to secure approval from the Congress, this would trigger bullish sentiment into the global stock market," he told Bernama.
Market players would also closely monitor the France's presidential election as the outcome could influence the movement of the global stock market, be it directly or indirectly, he added.
On the local front, Nazri Khan said the recently-launched Bumiputra Economic Transformation Roadmap (BETR) 2.0 of the Bumiputra Wellbeing Transformation would positively spur buying for bumiputra-linked stocks next week.
For the week just-ended, the local stock market performed stronger as sentiment in the market recovered following the easing geopolitical tension related to North Korea and Syria.
Other external factors influenced the movement of Bursa included trading performance on the Wall Street and other regional peers, US tax reform, volatility in oil prices, as well as US trade probe on Chinese steel exports.
On a week-to-week basis, the FBM KLCI rose 25.06 points to 1,756.05 from 1,730.99 supported by buying in index-linked counters as well as selected bluechips especially the finance- and banking-related stocks.
The FBM Emas Index soared 182.46 points to 12,490.58, the FBMT 100 Index chalked up 178.11 points to 12,126.22, the FBM Emas Syariah Index advanced 88.66 points to 12,848.06, the FBM 70 surged 235.5 points to 14,730.78, and the FBM Ace improved 156.5 points to 6,158.12.
On a sectoral basis, the Finance Index jumped 443.87 points to 16,008.58, the Plantation Index rose 113.24 points to 8,027.27, but the Industrial Index gave up 27.6 points for 3,209.56.
Weekly turnover declined to 14.29 billion units, worth RM11.31 billion, from 18.92 billion units valued at RM11.54 billion recorded last week.
Main Market volume contracted to 9.85 billion shares, worth RM10.65 billion, from last week's 12.27 billion shares, valued at RM10.64 billion.
Warrants' turnover increased to 893.88 million units worth RM112.2 million, from 812.96 million units, valued at RM102.98 million, transacted last week.
The ACE Market shrank to 3.49 billion shares, worth RM536.93 million, from 5.78 billion shares, valued at RM789.85 million, traded previously.
Gold futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives are expected to trend higher next week, as investors are wary of the outcome of the French Presidential election on Sunday, dealers said.
Phillip Futures Sdn Bhd Dealer, Leo Goh Boon Hao, said the uncertainty would prompt investors to shift their interest to the safe-haven asset.
"Besides that, the escalating geopolitical tensions over North Korea, the United Kingdom's general election proposed for June, along with expectations of a US tax cut announcement in the near future, would also spur the demand for gold," he told Bernama.
The local bourse will be closed on Monday in conjunction with the installation of Sultan Muhammad V as the 15th Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, April 2017 fell 36 ticks to RM180.70 a gramme, while May 2017, June 2017 and July 2017 declined 34 ticks each to RM180.20, RM179.70 and RM179.40, respectively.
Turnover for the week slid to 39 lots worth RM705,100 from 65 lots worth RM971,600 last week.
Open interest on Friday was slightly higher at 290 contracts from 289 contracts previously. — Bernama