ON Wednesday, stocks on the local bourse rebounded after six days of consecutive losses, taking their cue from regional markets and Wall Street which closed higher. The benchmark index surged 1.1% to close at 1,728.06.

Market breadth was positive, with gainers outperforming losers by a 2-to-1 ratio. The brief improvement of investor sentiment can be attributed to the halt in the ringgit’s slide, which traded at just over 3.56 per US dollar after threatening to inch towards RM3.60 the previous day.

Investors were also relieved that crude oil prices finally stopped plunging and chalked up gains overnight. However, it is unclear if crude oil prices have finally found a bottom, or whether this is just a temporary reprieve given oversold conditions for the commodity.

Global equities advanced taking their lead from strong overnight gains on Wall Street, which snapped five days of consecutive losses.

The catalysts for the rally there were data showing strong private sector job creation and minutes from the Federal Reserve meeting which reassured investors that a potential rate hike was nowhere near yet on the horizon.

Bucking the uptrend, China stocks fell on profit taking activities after its benchmark index, Shanghai Composite rallied to a five year high the day before.

I continue to be cautious on the outlook for Malaysian equities and have therefore kept my portfolio unchanged with a high cash holding level.

Currently, I am only holding Willowglen, which was unchanged yesterday.

My portfolio is currently registering a gain of 1.0% since inception, and has still outperformed the benchmark KLCI by 9.7%.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on January 9, 2015.