THE local bourse closed in the red last Friday, despite a positive lead from US markets overnight. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.19% higher amid signs of US economic recovery and strong performance from energy shares.

 The FBM KLCI declined 0.3% to 1,809.1 for the week, registering its third consecutive week of losses.

 The Japanese market also closed lower last week after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe dissolved parliament for snap elections and, hopefully, fresh mandate for reforms. Most regional markets, on the other hand, ended the week on a positive note, in anticipation of more stimulus measures from the European Central Bank.

 My portfolio bucked the broader market downtrend, with returns increasing by 0.16% to RM 103,379.4.

 The portfolio started on 8 July 2014 with a capital of RM100,000. Since then, it has outperformed the FBM KLCI by 7.8%, and has registered an annualised return of 9.0%.

 Total profits currently stand at RM 3,379.

 After disposing most of my stocks last week, I am now only 36.8% invested in two shares, namely Willowglen (+1.3%) and Crescendo (unchanged).

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on November 24, 2014.