Malaysia market commentary (16 Dec 2024)

Bond futures fully price in (97.1%) for 1 rate cut of 0.25% this Thursday 19 Dec, 3am FOMC meeting.

USDMYR rebounded from weekly low of 4.4200 and closed last Friday at 4.4500, while SGDMYR continued flirting around 3.30 region. The Malaysia government 10-year bond yield settled slightly higher at 3.82% (+0.03%).

More corporate currency hedging activities are expected for year end, including export proceeds, import cost management and dividends repatriation.

KLCI found support and closed higher at 1,608 (+6.67) with a traded volume of MYR 2.40 billion. In the same story, foreigners still sold local equities where the daily flow was estimated at MYR 46 million, pushing YTD to MYR – 3.00 billion.

Overall, the market breadth and risk sentiment improved. Gainers outrun losers in sectoral performance. Healthcare was champ again, thanks to the rally of TOPGLOV (+6.8%) and SUPERMX (+6.8%).

JFTECH captured the attention by skyrocketing about 13% to close at 0.795 with 31 million shares changed hand. This company is a manufacturer of test contacting for IC firms.

GAMUDA hit all-time high last Friday as research houses revised higher target price, propelled by contracts, property sales and project pipeline. GAMUDA advanced to 9.77 (+0.17).