KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 — Bursa Malaysia’s outlook for next week remains bullish, anchored mainly by foreign funds, according to analysts.

The recent 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) and full travel border reopening announcements have improved the sentiments among investors, as evidenced in the continued interest from international traders.

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said foreign funds had been recording net purchases in the past several weeks.

"Such trend is in tandem with the further reopening of the economy following the lifting of interstate travel ban commencing on Monday.

"This would mean the lively economic activities could translate into better earnings prospects for sectors like logistics, aviation, and food and beverages, as well as tourism-related activities,” he told Bernama.

Additionally, higher crude oil prices could provide some impetus for oil and gas-related stocks.

"In a nutshell, things are quite looking up and the investors would await more details when the government announce their Budget 2022 in order to look for more clues in respect to earnings potential.

"The 12MP, which saw a sizeable allocation in development expenditure, could result in further interest in the construction sector as the government is expected to speed up the existing infra projects,” he said.

Hence, he said, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia (FBM KLCI) could once again attempt to breach the psychological 1,600-point level in light of the positive vibes.

Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the barometre index was expected to trend within the 1,595-1,610 range in the coming week.

He sees an immediate resistance of 1,605 followed by 1,620 while immediate support is at 1,560.

For the week just ended, the local bourse started on a strong note, hitting its one-month high following full reopening of interstate travel within the country.

The market also received a boost from bullish oil and crude palm oil (CPO) prices, which have been hovering at a record-high level.

Crude oil prices inched closer to the US$85-per-barrel mark, while physical CPO price is hovering above RM5,000 per tonne.

On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the benchmark index rose 34.38 points to end the week at 1,598.28 from 1,563.9 previously.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 267.11 points to 11,768.87, the FBMT100 Index jumped 248.57 points to 11,406.74, the FBM Emas Shariah Index improved 572.98 points to 12,877.01, the FBM 70 strengthened 432.77 points to 15,444.56, and the FBM ACE expanded 24.09 points to 7,186.31.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index shot up 492.90 points to 15,705.46, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 3.48 points to 212.94, and the Energy Index bagged 54.31 points to 845.37.

The Plantation Index firmed 75.01 points to 7,040.04 following a rally in CPO prices and the Technology Index inched up 1.36 points to 97.77, but the Healthcare Index erased 3.05 points to 2,511.52.

During the week, weekly turnover increased marginally to 25.71 billion units worth RM16.61 billion compared with 21.41 billion units worth RM15.22 billion in the previous week.

The Main Market volume expanded to 17.04 billion shares worth RM14.50 billion against 14.14 billion shares worth RM12.96 billion in the prior week.

Warrants volume, however, decreased to 1.72 billion units worth RM213.25 million versus 2.11 billion units worth RM337.98 million previously.

The ACE Market volume widened to 6.92 billion shares worth RM1.90 billion from 5.14 billion shares worth RM1.93 billion in the previous week. — Bernama