STOCKS on Bursa Malaysia started the week on a positive note, in line with the rise in global markets and especially on Wall Street, where selling pressure appears to have dissipated — at least for now.  

However, it is still unclear if this trend can follow through for the rest of the week.

Sentiment is likely to be cautious ahead of the  two-day Federal Reserve meeting starting on Tuesday, with speculation on whether the Fed will announce an end to its bond-buying programme, and its signals on the timing of future interest rate hikes.

The FBM KLCI added 4.29 points to close at 1,823.15 on Monday, with gainers outweighing losers by 633 to 230 while 255 counters remained unchanged.

My portfolio value rose strongly by 1.87% to RM107,512, ahead of benchmark index’ 0.24% advance.

All the stocks in my portfolio rose yesterday, with notable gains made by KSL Holdings (+3.8%), and Homeritz (+3.0%) and Willowglen MSC (+2.9%).

The portfolio started on 8 July 2014 with a capital of RM 100,000. Since then, it has outperformed the FBM KLCI by 11.2%.

Total profits for the portfolio currently stand at RM7,512.

While riding on the market momentum, I have decided to sell my stake in Prolexus, amounting to 5,000 shares at RM1.67 per share. The investment here has yielded a return of 2.5% compared with my acquisition price of RM 1.63.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on October 28, 2014.