KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended the week on a lower note on Friday, as anxieties about economic developments in the United States and China weighed down on market sentiment.
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 4.01 points to 1,460.67 from Thursday's closing of 1,464.68.
The key index began the session 3.09 points lower at 1,461.59, fluctuating within the range of 1,458.53 and 1,462.31 throughout the trading session.
On the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 450 to 439, while 461 counters were unchanged.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI finished lower as profit taking activities continued in tandem with its regional peers.
He added that major regional indices mirrored the negativity, with Hong Kong experiencing a sharp decline after tech giant Alibaba scrapped its cloud computing unit spin-off plan, citing uncertainties arising from US chip restrictions.
Meanwhile, he said several reports on Thursday indicated a slowdown in the U.S. economy, as a slightly increased number of workers filed for unemployment benefits last week.
"Back home, we believe the the local market may possibly turn positive due to persistent net inflow from foreign funds which reached more than RM1 billion month to date accompanied by strong fundamentals of the local economy will drive the market going forward.
"Technical point of view, the benchmark index breached the pivotal resistance level of 1,465 on November 15 but retraced in subsequent sessions due to prevailing domestic sentiment focused on profit-taking following the recent robust rally.
"Nevertheless, with the rising exponential moving averages (EMAs), we maintain the perspective that the upward bias persists in the near term," he told Business Times.
Thong also anticipates additional upward potential, if the KLCI Index manages to surpass the 1,465-resistance threshold again.
Meanwhile, he expects the FBM KLCI to range between 1,450 and 1,470 in the upcoming week, with support levels at 1,430.