Bursa Malaysia expected to improve

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia is expected to improve as it enters into the fourth quarter of the year, mainly driven by the firmer crude oil prices and competitive exchange rate, dealers said.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd head of Research Kenny Yee said, he reckoned the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI ( FBM KLCI) index would again trend at a narrow rangeg of between 1,790, and 1,810 as investors looked for leads on the upcoming Budget 2019 in November.

Bank Islam chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the FBM KLCI had increased by more than 100 points in the third quarter.

He told Bernama that the performance was quite respectable, considering that the markets had to contend with the escalating US-China trade war, the US interest rate rise and possible contagion effect from Turkey and Argentina.

“At this juncture, the Federal Reserve is expected to increase the rates at a gradual pace and crude oil prices have remained steady on the high side.

“So our competitive exchange rates should help promote external demand which can be beneficial to export-oriented industries such as semiconductor, rubber gloves and, to some extent, oil and gas,” he said.

Investors will also be looking for more local market catalysts from the 11th Malaysia Plan Mid-Term Review and Budget 2019 scheduled to be announced on October 18 and November 2, respectively, Mohd Afzanizam said.

“The markets are looking for more clarity in policy-making going forward,” he added.

On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the benchmark FBM KLCI settled 5.49 points lower at 1,793.15.

The FBM Emas Index was down 74.74 points at 12,533.22, the FBMT100 Index fell 86.49 points to 12,336.84 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 57.38 points to 12,678.56.

The FBM 70 rose 26.30 points to 14,873.26, while the FBM Ace jumped 182.25 points to 5,386.69.

On a sectoral basis, the Finance Index dropped 169.21 points to 17,799.45, the Plantation Index was down 12.25 points to 7,539.94, and the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.78 point to 177.56.

Weekly turnover increased to 8.17 billion units worth RM8.85 billion from 7.8 billion units worth RM9.5 billion.

Main Market volume advance to 5.74 billion shares valued at RM8.28 billion from 5.27 billion shares worth RM8.89 billion recorded last Friday.

Warrants turnover shrank to 1.11 billion units worth RM236.76 million from 1.49 billion units valued at RM383.58 million.

The ACE Market volume gained to 1.32 billion shares worth RM328.55 million from 1.03 billion shares worth RM229.39 million. — Bernama