KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 4 — Share prices on Bursa Malaysia are likely to move in a tight range next week, with investors reluctant to actively trade ahead of the Aidilfitri celebration, dealers said. 

“The market is completely in a holiday mood. Stocks were just moving up and down and investors are expected to lock in profit after the recent run-up,” a dealer said. 

He said investors are expected to give more focus on the lower liners and the market is expected to watch closely the performance of the Wall Street and regional markets. 

The local market’s fundamentals are still good given the positive market sentiment. 

During the week ended, strong support for finance stocks and key heavyweight counters pushed the FBM KLCI above the 1,400-point level to hit a fresh 30-month high. 

The index touched the new 30-month high of 1,441.8 on Thursday supported by strong foreign funds participation in the market and rise on the US stocks. 

Several analysts said the Composite Index had the propensity to touch 1,460 by year-end, supported by strong investor interest, positive earnings by corporates, a stronger ringgit and ample liquidity. 

However, yesterday, the market ended mixed on profit-taking activities ahead of the weekend. 

During the week, the market was also closed on Tuesday for the National Day celebration. 

On a weekly basis, the FBM KLCI advanced 24.62 points to 1,435.67 compared with the previous closing of 1,411.05. 

The FBM Emas Index increased 166.31 points to 9,584.79 compared to 9,418.48 yesterday, the FBM70 Index gained 229.1 points to 9,377.18 from 9,148.08 and the FBM Ace Index rose 29.22 points to 3,749.36 from 3,720.14. 

The Finance Index surged 255.98 points to 12,957.67 from 12,701.69 last Friday, the Plantation Index went up 107.98 points to 6,661.11 from 6,553.13 previously while the Industrial Index was up 60.51 points to 2,766.34 from 2,705.83. 

The weekly turnover decreased to 2.861 billion shares valued at RM7.428 billion from 4.02 billion shares worth RM7.55 billion last week. 

The main market turnover declined to 3.164 billion units worth RM9.195 billion from 3.41 billion units valued at RM7.44 billion previously. 

The Ace market volume decreased to 243.358 million shares valued at RM31.805 million from 343.951 million shares worth RM55.165 million last week. 

Warrants, however, increased to 267.831 million units worth RM36.647 million from 249.34 million units valued at RM39.037 million previously. — Bernama