KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 13): Inter-Pacific Securities Sdn Bdh said even after extending its winning streak for a sixth consecutive day, the near-term outlook remains positive due to the stronger pickup in market interest and buoyed by the re-opening and recovery theme that is also signaling the possible end of the pandemic that has affected the country for the past 18 months.

In its daily bulletin on Wednesday, the research house said Malaysian equities remained on the ascend on Tuesday, bucking the regional weakness on sustained rotational plays and continuing interest from foreign institutions.

It said heavy buying was seen in steel, construction and consumer discretionary stocks that was buoyed by the re-opening theme.

It said the positive trend was also apparent in the broader market, albeit the total gainers narrowed against the losing stocks due to increased profit taking and traded volumes were about a quarter lower than the previous day.

Inter-Pacific said that as such, the rotational buying is likely to continue with stocks on Bursa Malaysia playing catch up to the YTD gains in many foreign bourses.

The research house said it sees some mild hesitation on bouts of profit taking, but the weakness is likely to be short-lived as there is still strong buying interest that could help to lift the key index to the 1,590 level.

“However, we think the psychological 1,600 level is still a formidable level to clear and is likely to remain steadfast for the time being.

The supports, meanwhile, are at the 1,580 and 1,575 levels respectively,” it said.

Inter-Pacific said the rotational buying is also spreading among the broader market shares and this trend looks to continue as retail players are continuing their return to the market.

“As it is, the recovery theme will continue to fuel the positive market undertone and promote more trading activities, especially on some of the earlier beaten down stocks,” it said.