KUALA LUMPUR: The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) is likely to stage a mild upswing to reach 1,730, while led by the recovery in oil prices and US President Donald Trump’s tax overhaul plan, alongside cautious sentiment in the market.
Affin Hwang Investment Bank vice-president and head of Retail Research, Datuk Dr Nazri Khan Adam Khan said optimism over Trump’s tax overhaul had led to the recent stronger Wall Street performance and is likely to continue.
Early this month, the US Senate narrowly approved a tax overhaul, moving Republicans and Trump closer to slash taxes for businesses and the rich, while offering everyday Americans a mixed bag of changes.
“Meanwhile, Malaysia’s economic indications are stable such as the international reserves standing at US$101.9 billion as at Nov 30, 2017. The ringgit has also strengthened against the US dollar by 10 per cent year-to-date, indicating positive foreign fund inflows,” he told Bernama.
However, Nazri Khan said the market was also cautiously monitoring rising political tensions in the Middle East after Trump announced a decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
On a Friday to Thursday comparison, the FBM KLCI gained 3.39 points to 1,721.25 from 1,717.86, with the market being mostly influenced by external factors.
The FBM Emas Index fell 62.91 points to 12,345.40, the FBMT 100 Index decreased 49.67 points to 12,019.79 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index lost 128.87 points to 12,791.28, as the FBM 70 trimmed 330.22 points to 15,110.26. The FBM Ace declined 79.22 points to 6,232.41.
On a sectoral basis, the Finance Index improved 62.71 points to 15,989.04, the Plantation Index shed 38.11 points to 7,856.08, while the Industrial Index slipped 23.58 points to 3,149.31.
Total turnover rose to 8.86 billion units worth RM12.05 billion from 7.87 billion units worth RM12.7 billion last week.
Main Market volume increased to 6.05 billion shares worth RM11.60 billion from 5.44 billion shares worth RM12.32 billion.
Warrants turnover was slightly higher at 982.47 million units worth RM134.08 million against last week’s 938.2 million units worth RM102.83 million.
The ACE Market expanded to 1.80 billion shares worth RM822.99 million from 1.47 billion shares worth RM275.19 million transacted previously. — Bernama