GLOBAL markets closed mostly lower for the week. Confidence was buffeted by persistent weakness in commodity prices as well as soft economic data. To top that off, Switzerland, which has a long reputation for having a stable financial system, unexpectedly removed its currency cap against the euro and sent shock waves throughout markets worldwide. The Swiss franc soared.

Oil prices see-sawed through the week, but appeared to regain some positive momentum last Friday. After falling briefly lower than the WTI, crude Brent price recovered to trade above the former at around US$49.60 per barrel, at the point of writing.

Meanwhile back at home, stocks on the local bourse closed slightly lower on Friday. The FBM KLCI index declined by a marginal 0.08% to close at 1,743.57 points. Market breadth was negative with losers outperforming gainers 1.16 to 1.

I continue to be cautious on the outlook for Malaysian equities and have therefore kept my portfolio unchanged with a high cash holding level. Some of the Stocks with Momentum continue to offer trading opportunities, but one has to be nimble given current volatile market conditions. Those with a longer-term horizon should look at my portfolio in the Edge Weekly, which buys some of InsiderAsia’s stock picks.

Currently, I am only holding Willowglen, which went up 2 sen to close at 78.5 sen. This week, the stock has registered gains of 8%.

My portfolio is currently registering a gain of 1.6 % since inception, and has still outperformed the benchmark KLCI by 9.5%.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on January 19, 2015.