KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia is anticipated to fluctuate from 1,610 to 1,635 next week, with any retracement likely to find support at the 1,590-1,600 level.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng reckoned the outlook for Malaysian equities remains steady despite Friday's lacklustre performance as cheap valuations accompanied by strong fundamentals of the local economy will drive the market moving forward.

"The benchmark index has extended its rally, surpassing the 1,620 mark on Monday for a three-year high.

"Although we expect a temporary pause in bullish activity following this strong surge, the index remains above all exponential moving averages (EMAs)," he told Bernama.

He noted the upward trend of the 20-day and 50-day EMAs suggests that the FBM KLCI will consolidate with a positive bias.

On Monday, shares on Bursa Malaysia broke through the 1,620-point resistance level at 1,627.50 as funds poured in, lifting the key index to its highest since March 2021.

In a recent post on X, the stock exchange said Bursa Malaysia's overall market capitalisation and barometer index traded at a year-to-date high following optimism arising from the better-than-expected domestic economic performance for the first quarter.

During the week, Bursa Malaysia was traded mixed due to buying activities, spurred by American chipmaker Nvidia's robust earnings as well as Malaysia's strong trade performance in April 2024.

On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the FBM KLCI gained 2.78 points to 1,619.40 from last week's 1,616.62.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 45.65 points to 12,353.83, the FBM 70 Index soared 150.89 points to 17,791.95 and the FBMT 100 Index increased 42.24 points to 11,948.25.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 108.54 points to 12,630.75 and the FBM ACE Index advanced 192.93 points to 5,544.15.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index was 43.38 points higher to 17,688.99, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 1.83 points to 196.65, the Energy Index gained 15.58 points to 1,001.53, while the Plantation Index fell 84.40 points to 7,302.3.

For the week just ended, turnover shrank to 24.18 billion units worth RM17.85 billion against 28.69 billion units worth RM19.76 billion in the preceding week.

The Main Market volume went down to 15.20 billion shares valued at RM15.65 billion from 17.06 billion shares valued at RM17.24 billion a week ago.

Warrants turnover reduced to 4.76 billion units worth RM656.51 million versus 6.20 billion units worth RM908.91 million last week.

The ACE Market volume slid to 4.19 billion shares valued at RM1.53 billion compared to 5.42 billion shares valued at RM1.61 billion previously.

 - BERNAMA