Bursa touches historic high of 1,700.55

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia briefly flirted with the 1,700-point level for the first time yesterday before closing 3.06 points higher to 1,688.46.



Analysts said the broader market showed much optimism, especially after the second day of the announcement of the dissolution of Parliament.

The likes of MIDF Research point the base case end-2013 target for the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (FBM KLCI) at 1,750 points.

The FBM KLCI may shoot above the target level in the event Barisan Nasional (BN) regained the two-thirds majority in the upcoming general election, MIDF research head Zulkifli Hamzah said.

Yesterday, aggressive buying pushed the benchmark index to a historic high of 1,700.55 in early trade.

The local shares opened lower but rebounded 15 minutes later, lifted by gains in property, banking and telecommunication blue chips.

The FBM KLCI was up 10.48 points at 1,695.88 before peaking at 1,700.55 by 9.15am, after opening 4.43 points weaker at 1,680.97.

On Wednesday, local stocks went on a roller-coaster ride after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced the dissolution of Parliament.

Around midday, the FBM KLCI fell by nearly 60 points to a day low of 1,632.28, before ending up slightly higher than Tuesday's close.

MIDF's Zulkifli said the wild market swings on Wednesday mirrored the level of investors' uncertainty over the outcome of the election.

He advised investors to be wary of possible short-term corrections in the global equity market after a roaring start to the year.

"We can expect the market to remain volatile within a tug-of-war range of between 1,650 and 1,710 points until the polling date," he said.

Edmund Tham, head of research at Mercury Securities, believes that the FBM KLCI would be range-bound between 1,600 and 1,700 points due to suspected support from local government-linked funds.

M&A Securities, in its note, advised investors to sell and buy back into the market at a lower level.

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