Bursa M'sia may take a breather next week

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia is still within the uptrend channel but after the steep rally over the past few trading days, stocks on the local front may take a breather next week, said Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB).
Any pullback on the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) will be deemed as healthy for short-term accumulation decision.
"Stocks on the local front may take a breather over the near term as the FBM KLCI is slightly overbought.
"Also, tracking the negative performance on the overnight Wall Street, we think profit-taking activities may emerge on selected heavyweights," it said in a note.
Nevertheless, it said traders may turn to small caps and lower liner laggards with an oversold signal for short-term rebound trading opportunities.
Meanwhile, AllianceDBS Research said Malaysian equities remain attractive.
"After underperforming regional markets in 2017, the FBM KLCI is trading inexpensively near its mean price earnings of 15.0 times.
"With earnings recovery gaining traction, preference for equity over fixed income investment in rising interest rate environment and recovering foreign flow, we see better days ahead for Malaysian equities in 2018," it said.
On a Friday-to-Friday comparison, the FBM KLCI gained 31.82 points to 1,753.07 from 1,721.25, with the market being mostly influenced by the US Dow Jones Industrial Average index that continuously scaled new highs in a four-day rally.
The FBM Emas Index surged 243.44 points to 12,588.84, the FBMT 100 Index increased 187.39 points to 12,256.85, the FBM Emas Shariah Index trimmed 29.42 points to 12,890.73, the FBM 70 bagged 20.23 points to 15,460.71, and the FBM Ace added 116.79 points to 6,428.42.
On a sectoral basis, the Finance Index soared 597.47 points to 16,586.51, the Plantation Index shed 45.97 points to 7,810.11, while the Industrial Index advanced 30.85 points to 3,180.16.
Total turnover jumped to 11.07 billion units worth RM13.65 billion from 8.86 billion units worth RM12.05 billion last week.
Main Market volume improved to 7.09 billion shares worth RM12.96 billion up to 6.05 billion shares worth RM11.60 billion.
Warrants turnover was lower at 974.17 million units worth RM126.08 million against last week's 982.47 million units worth RM134.08 million.
The ACE Market expanded to 2.95 billion shares worth RM546.69 million from 1.80 billion shares worth RM822.99 million transacted previously.
The gold futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives is likely to trade cautiously as traders await the US tax reform outcome for more indication on market direction, said a dealer.
Phillip Futures Sdn Bhd Dealer Leo Goh Boon Hao said the pessimism over the US tax reforms had caused traders to adopt a safe stance on the bullion.
"In the week ahead, market participants are awaiting the US Congress' vote on the tax reform bill, and any obstacles would propel the gold price," he told Bernama.
For the week just ended, the local gold price overall traded mostly higher, with the Federal Reserve's interest rate hike being a catalyst for the surging demand for safe-haven assets by traders.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, December 2017 and January 2018 rose 24 ticks each to RM166.10 a gramme and RM166.50 a gramme, respectively.
Meanwhile, February 2018 and March 2018 increased 28 ticks each to RM167.20 a gramme and RM167.90 a gramme, respectively.
Weekly turnover decreased to 18 lots worth RM280,320 from 47 lots worth RM786,640 last week, while open interest on Friday was higher at 105 versus 102 contracts previously. — Bernama