Malaysian share prices are expected to be range-bound, with investors still cautious amid persistently high oil prices, dealers said. "The local market's performance may not be as good as other regional markets, but it is up to our expectation," said Terence Wong, head of research at CIMB Investment Bank.
"Corporate earnings growth remains very strong and we think investors should accumulate at this point as we believe the market will go higher," he added. He is expecting the KLCI to hit 1,440 points by the end of this year.
The government's effort to pump-prime the economy through a number of massive development projects is one of the factors that is expected to help ensure the local market's future upswing.
For the week to October 19, the KLCI dropped 5.08 points or 0.4 percent to 1,370.17 points. Average daily volume was 1.59 billion shares valued at 2.0 billion ringgit (595.23 million dollars), as compared with 1.7 billion shares worth 2.0 billion ringgit a week earlier.