Bursa Malaysia Seen Trading In Narrow Range Next Week But With Upside Bias
By Engku Shariful Azni Engku Ab Latif & Abdul Hamid A Rahman
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 15 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia is expected to trade with an upside bias next week but within the narrow range of 1,740-1,750 points.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said resilient domestic fundamentals would support the local bourse. However, he reckons improving regional growth equities could lead to sectoral and country rotation away from the FBM KLCI, given its relatively defensive composition and limited exposure to high-growth sectors.
Key catalysts include oil prices, developments in the Iran-US conflict and China’s July activity data.
“Overall, we remain cautiously bullish, but we would not chase the index at current levels, as the next leg of the regional rally is likely to favour markets and sectors with stronger earnings growth potential,” Sedek said.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd head of research Kenny Yee said markets had been given a reprieve from the cooling US inflation data over the last few days. “However, if the forthcoming retail sales are high, we may see some profit-taking. We will be cautious on the earnings from technology and artificial intelligence-related stocks,” he told Bernama.
On Friday, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) reported that Malaysia's economy expanded by 6.0 per cent in the second quarter of 2026 (2Q 2026), surpassing the Department of Statistics Malaysia's (DOSM) advance estimate of 5.8 per cent. The central bank said the growth was driven by continued domestic demand and robust exports.
BNM governor Datuk Seri Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour said the Malaysian economy remains on a firm footing.
He said growth in 2026 is projected to remain within the forecast range of 4.0-5.0 per cent, with recent developments indicating that overall growth could be around 5.0 per cent. “While the outlook continues to be shaped by external developments, Malaysia is well-positioned to navigate these challenges from a position of strength and policy readiness,” he added.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the FBM KLCI slid 8.36 points to 1,727.39 from 1,735.75 a week earlier.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index declined 18.81 points to 12,815.44, while the FBM Top 100 Index lost 33.94 points to 12,626.26, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index shed 34 points to 12,629.23.
The FBM Mid 70 Index gained 66.67 points to 18,18,293.19, and the FBM ACE Index soared 214.83 points to 5,294.78.
By sector, the Financial Services Index erased 80.50 points to 20,336.03, and the Plantation Index slipped 213.68 points to 9,327.40, while the Energy Index added 21.07 points to 779.46.
The Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 0.77 of a point to 187.23.
The weekly turnover expanded to 17.66 billion units worth RM14.42 billion from 16.22 billion units worth RM15.34 billion a week earlier.
The Main Market volume widened to 8.91 billion units valued at RM12.59 billion against 8.26 billion units valued at RM12.71 billion previously.
Warrant turnover eased to 5.30 billion units worth RM719.94 million versus 5.33 billion units worth RM710.62 million last week.
The ACE Market volume advanced to 3.42 billion units valued at RM1.11 billion compared with 2.61 billion units valued at RM913.58 million in the previous week.
-- BERNAMA