Profit-taking Seen For Bursa Malaysia Next Week After Recent Strong Gains
By Siti Noor Afera Abu
KUALA LUMPUR, July 18 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia is expected to trade in a more modest range next week as investors engage in profit-taking following this week’s strong rally.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said market sentiment will continue to be driven by developments surrounding the US-Iran conflict, with renewed tensions keeping crude oil prices elevated amid concerns over potential supply disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz.
“Nevertheless, we remain optimistic that this second wave of geopolitical tensions is unlikely to push oil prices back towards the US$110 per barrel levels seen during the second quarter of 2026, given ample global supply and the absence of widespread production disruptions,” he told Bernama.
Mohd Sedek also expects sector rotation to remain a key market theme as investors are likely to continue shifting between defensive and growth sectors as they reassess interest rate expectations and geopolitical risks.
He said technology stocks, in particular, could experience increased volatility following their strong outperformance earlier this year, with similar rotation trends evident across both global and regional equity markets. “Domestically, we expect banking, plantation, and defensive consumer stocks to continue providing support to the broader market, underpinned by Malaysia’s resilient economic fundamentals and sustained foreign investor interest,” he added.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the key index advanced 39.95 points to 1,731.45 from 1,691.49 a week earlier.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index jumped 195.28 points to 12,719.09, the FBMT 100 Index widened 203.23 points to 12,557.56, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 108.86 points to 12,482.47.
The FBM Mid 70 Index declined 83.55 points to 17,774.92, while the FBM ACE Index slid 14.28 points to 4,879.15.
By sector, the Plantation Index surged 281.46 points to 9,483.77, the Energy Index eased 2.54 points to 766.28, and the Financial Services Index shot up 613.70 points to 20,535.36. The Industrial Products and Services Index added 4.15 points to 186.73.
Weekly turnover increased to 17.82 billion units worth RM13.68 billion from 13.83 billion units worth RM10.37 billion a week earlier.
The Main Market volume widened to 9.22 billion units valued at RM12.10 billion against 5.85 billion units valued at RM8.75 billion previously.
Warrant turnover was slightly higher at 5.73 billion units worth RM711.62 million versus 5.41 billion units worth RM727.57 million last week.
The ACE Market volume rose to 2.86 billion units valued at RM862.68 million compared with 2.60 billion units valued at RM860.50 million in the previous week.
-- BERNAMA