KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 30 — Bursa Malaysia’s key index is likely to test the 1,570-level next week amid cautious sentiment in the broader market, said an analyst.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng told Bernama that the immediate resistance was unchanged at 1,600 followed by 1,615, while immediate support remains at 1,530 and 1,560.

He reckons that the recent correction of the local bourse, which saw a decline of more than 40 points, may attract bargain-hunting activities.

Throughout the week, the local bourse had been on market consolidation mode awaiting the tabling of Budget 2022 by Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz on Friday.

The government announced a spending plan that is its largest on record, with an allocation of RM332.1 billion to drive the recovery of an economy badly hit by the pandemic.

Key regional markets closed the week mixed despite positive cues from Wall Street as some investors believed that high inflation may force global central banks to tighten monetary policy earlier than thought.

On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the benchmark index fell 25.77 points to end the week at 1,562.31 from 1,588.08 previously.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 150.40 points to 11,559.0, the FBMT100 Index decreased 150.70 points to 11,189.09, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index slid 197.51 points to 12,591.59.

The FBM 70 weakened 74.26 points to 15,302.37, and the FBM ACE retreated 74.71 points to 7,096.17.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index was down 128.84 points to 15,589.21, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 2.95 points lower at 206.79, and the Energy Index eased 20.62 points to 800.90.

The Plantation Index fell 233.12 points to 6,788.82, the Healthcare Index erased 57.26 points to 2,443.14, and the Technology Index inched down 0.08 of-a-point to 99.0.

Weekly turnover increased to 18.8 billion units worth RM12.42 billion from 15.83 billion units worth RM11.68 billion in the previous week.

The Main Market volume rose to 12.16 billion shares valued at RM10.72 billion from 10.41 billion shares worth RM10.23 billion in the prior week.

Warrants volume narrowed to 1.30 billion units worth RM206.56 million versus 1.70 billion units valued at RM243.49 million previously.

The ACE Market volume went up to 5.31 billion shares worth RM1.50 billion from 3.69 billion shares worth RM1.20 billion in the previous week. — Bernama