BURSA MALAYSIA POISED FOR SELECTIVE BARGAIN-HUNTING NEXT WEEK

By Durratul Ain Ahmad Fuad

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 7 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia is expected to trade with selective bargain-hunting, even in the absence of oversold technical conditions, following three consecutive sessions of mild decline, said an economist. 

IPPFA Sdn Bhd’s director of investment strategy and country economist, Mohd Sedek Jantan said trading activity is likely to remain measured as markets monitor political developments in the region, particularly the elections in Japan and Thailand.

“Japan’s election outcome carries greater regional relevance, as it will shape fiscal direction and security policy in Asia’s second-largest economy at a time of sluggish growth and elevated public debt, with potential implications for regional risk premia and currency markets.

“In contrast, Thailand’s election is expected to have limited spillover effects on the broader region and minimal direct impact on Malaysia,” he told Bernama. 

Meanwhile, he said the global sentiment next week will continue to be guided by the United States’ (US) corporate earnings season, although he expects volatility to moderate from this week’s elevated levels.

“The earnings focus shifts towards consumer and healthcare names, which should offer a more stable read on underlying demand conditions compared with the recent tech-driven repricing,” he said. 

Mohd Sedek said on the macro front, it will be a data-intensive week for Malaysia, beginning with the release of the Industrial Production and Manufacturing Statistics on Monday, followed by Wholesale and Retail Trade data on Tuesday, labour market indicators on Wednesday, and the gross domestic product data for the fourth quarter of 2025 on Friday.

“Globally, US retail sales data is due on Tuesday, while China is scheduled to release its January Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index figures on Wednesday.

“We expect China’s CPI inflation to moderate to 0.5 per cent year-on-year, slightly below December’s 0.8 per cent, reinforcing the narrative of subdued domestic demand,” he added.

On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the FBM KLCI fell by 8.05 points to 1,732.83 from 1,740.88 a week earlier.

On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index slipped 91.03 points to 12,470.99 and the FBM Emas Index declined 106.30 points to 12,639.69.  

The FBM Mid 70 Index dropped 275.46 points to 17,234.12, the FBM Emas Shariah Index shed 169.83 points to 12,105.49, and the FBM ACE Index erased 92.21 points to 4,630.79.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index slid 33.24 points to 21,476.94, the Energy Index lost 19.92 points to 739.01, the Plantation Index eased 40.93 points to 8,323.63, and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 2.09 points to 173.47.

Weekly turnover weakened to 12.75 billion units worth RM12.97 billion from 16.53 billion units worth RM20.33 billion a week ago.

The Main Market volume decreased to 7.22 billion units worth RM11.84 billion compared to 9.76 billion units worth RM18.75 billion previously.

Warrants turnover slipped to 3.60 billion units valued at RM430.75 million from 4.43 billion units valued at RM602.53 million last week.

Meanwhile, the ACE Market volume narrowed to 1.92 billion units valued at RM680.70 million from 2.34 billion units valued at RM955.46 million in the previous week.

-- BERNAMA