Malaysian shares will likely remain bearish next week on heightened regional and domestic political concerns as well as weaker external conditions, analysts said on Friday.
Stephen Soo, analyst at local brokerage TA Securities told AFP the country was in "jittery" political situation following opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's vow to topple the government within weeks, which rattled investors.
Anwar had won a landslide victory in a by-election that returned him to parliament after a decade-long absence. "It is a myriad of negative factors - the weakening US economy, a weaker ringgit, political risk premium and the drop in crude palm oil (CPO) and oil prices - are adversely affecting the market," he said. Malaysia is a top palm oil producer and many leading plantation counters have fallen over the weeks on easing CPO prices. "With all these factors combined, I am looking at a bearish market next week. The next phase is going to continue to be very weak," Soo said. He said the market will likely trade within the 1,050-1,036 range.
For the four-day trading week ended September 5, the composite index fell 29.96 points or 2.7 percent to 1,070.54. Daily average volume slipped to 319 million shares worth 716.3 million ringgit (207 million dollars) compared with 351.3 million shares valued at 730.8 million ringgit a week ago.