BURSA MALAYSIA TO RETEST 1,640 LEVEL AMID POSITIVE SENTIMENT NEXT WEEK

By Abdul Hamid A Rahman

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia is expected to maintain its upward trajectory and retest the 1,640 resistance level next week, having last reached a higher level of 1,642.33 points on Dec 31, 2024.

IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said a clear breakout remains possible this month, underpinned by improving global sentiment and a solid domestic data backdrop.

“December has historically been a supportive month for equities, and institutional portfolio rebalancing typically adds an additional tailwind,” he told Bernama.

However, Mohd Sedek said next week’s market direction will be shaped largely by two major external events.

“China’s November economic data, due on Monday, will set the tone for regional markets.

“We expect industrial production and retail sales to firm modestly to around 5.1 per cent and 2.9 per cent year-on-year respectively, while fixed asset investment is likely to deepen its contraction to minus 2.8 per cent year-to-date,” he said.

He then referred to another key event, the US Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP) release on Tuesday, covering October and November 2025 employment data.

“Early signals point to a labour market that remains resilient but is gradually cooling, with private-sector hiring expected to moderate.

“A softer but still positive reading would be broadly consistent with the Federal Reserve’s current stance, while a sharper deceleration could weigh on global risk sentiment,” he said.

He added that both data will be central in shaping investor expectations for next week and will determine whether the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI’s (FBM KLCI) latest rebound can extend further.

On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the FBM KLCI rose 21.29 points to 1,637.81 from last week’s 1,616.52.

For the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 111.80 points to 12,074.03, the FBMT 100 Index advanced 119.48 points to 11,863.30, the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 112.15 points to 11,909.20, and the FBM 70 Index added 14.06 points to 16,736.67, while the FBM ACE Index declined 57.95 points to 4,758.19.

By sector, the Financial Services Index jumped 210.37 points to 19,221.70, the Plantation Index rose 55.02 points to 8,151.27, the Energy Index added 9.25 points to 767.79, and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 3.39 points to 169.17.

Weekly turnover shed to 15.95 billion units worth RM11.27 billion from 18.86 billion units worth RM13.40 billion a week earlier.

The Main Market volume increased to 7.07 billion units worth RM9.76 billion versus 7.01 billion units worth RM11.41 billion previously.

Warrants turnover declined to 7.06 billion units valued at RM904.42 million against 10.05 billion units valued at RM1.37 billion last week.

The ACE Market volume gained to 1.81 billion units valued at RM590.79 million from 1.78 billion units valued at RM602.06 million previously.

-- BERNAMA