Bursa Malaysia expected to rise towards 1,590 level next week
UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said that given the weekend timing of the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Malaysia's equity market will absorb any geopolitical repricing effects when trading resumes next week.
"Domestically, the investment narrative will be shaped by further disclosures on the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) project allocations, while the approach of Budget 2026 -- now under two months away -- will heighten focus on stakeholder engagement sessions as potential precursors to fiscal policy direction ahead of the Prime Minister's parliamentary tabling," he told Bernama.
On the inflation front, Mohd Sedek said Malaysia's July Consumer Price Index (CPI), due for release on Friday, Aug 22, will offer the first high-frequency read on the pass-through impact of the broadened Sales and Service Tax (SST) regime.
"We project headline CPI at 1.2 to 1.3 per cent year-on-year, up from 1.1 per cent in June, with core inflation expected to remain contained," he said.
Globally, Mohd Sedek said, investor attention is set to converge on Wednesday's release of the Federal Open Market Committee minutes and the Jackson Hole Symposium (Aug 21-23) -- both considered potential catalysts for repricing policy-rate expectations if a pivot narrative gains momentum.
"Pre-Jackson Hole signalling from Washington has intensified, with the Trump administration adopting a more assertive communications posture than the Federal Reserve's (Fed) measured, data-dependent stance.
"Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has escalated his call from a 50-basis-point cut to a cumulative 150-basis-point reduction, amplifying political pressure on the Fed.
"This shift, combined with personnel changes at the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the nomination of dovish candidates to the Federal Reserve Board, reflects a coordinated strategy to influence Fed chair Jerome Powell's policy trajectory," he said.
He added that any eventual dovish recalibration could be positioned domestically as both a political and macroeconomic victory, reinforcing the administration's narrative of executive influence over monetary normalisation.
On a weekly basis, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 19.36 points to 1,576.34 on Friday from 1,556.98 a week earlier.
The FBM Emas Index gained 129.27 points to 11,731.06, the FBMT 100 Index climbed 132.95 points to 11,512.86, the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 20.67 points to 11,654.85, the FBM 70 Index improved 155.15 points to 16,660.68, and the FBM ACE Index advanced 106.57 points to 4,713.45.
By sector, the Financial Services Index rose 499.25 points to 18,080.07, the Plantation Index increased 77.91 points to 7,504.03, and the Energy Index went up 4.11 points to 740.83.
Weekly turnover dropped to 11.10 billion units worth RM11.87 billion from 12.65 billion units worth RM11.65 billion in the previous week.
The Main Market volume shrank to 7.16 billion units valued at RM11.06 billion compared with 7.66 billion units valued at RM10.61 billion previously.
Warrants turnover declined to 3.37 billion units worth RM453.56 million from 3.62 billion units worth RM508.07 million in the preceding week.
The weekly ACE Market volume grew to 1.64 billion units valued at RM593.87 million versus 1.37 billion units valued at RM529.84 million previously.
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