Bursa’s rally continues ahead of economic releases

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia is defying gravity despite expectations of profit-taking after six consecutive sessions of gains took the stock benchmark to its highest level in two years.

The benchmark FBM KLCI rose 1.81 points to a fresh two-year high of 1,573.29 at the start of Thursday trading, suggesting that investors remain in a rallying mood.

Apex Securities Research said the technical outlook on the index remained intact as the FBM KLCI formed a bullish candle with the key index breaking above the resistance level of 1,560 yesterday.

“Indicators were positive as the MACD Line hovered above the Signal Line, while the RSI firmed up above 50. Next resistance is located at 1,580. Support is envisaged around 1,530,” it said.

However, the research firm said there was an increasing possibility of profit-taking activities on the cards, following the recent rally.

“Economic wise, investors will be monitoring the release of Malaysia’s inflation data alongside with the US 1Q2024 GDP (advance reading) data later today.

“We expect the healthcare sector that advanced to two-year high to remain upbeat, while profit taking activities may emerge within the technology sector,” Apex said in its market outlook.

On Wall Street, US markets turned choppy overnight in anticipation of the first-quarter gross domestic product report, which would shed light on the strength of the US economy in an elevated interest rate environment.

While the pullback is expected to spill over to Asian markets, sentiment may also be dampened by a 15% decline in Meta Platforms’ shares in after-hours trading after its revenue projection fell below expectations, and it boosted its capex outlook on spending in artificial intelligence infrastructure.

On the FBM KLCI, early gainers included IHH up three sen to RM6.23, QL Resources rising five sen to RM6.40, PPB gaining six sen to RM15.94 and Axiata adding two sen to RM2.75.

Top active securities were Berjaya Corp up two sen to 30.5 sen, Iconic unchanged at nine sen and TAS Offshore rising 10 sen to 68.5 sen.