THE local bourse started the week strongly, rebounding from last week’s losses. The positive sentiment was aided by regional markets which closed higher overnight. Market breadth was positive with gainers outperforming decliners by 1.7 to 1.

China surprised investors by cutting rates, causing share prices to rally, while European shares extended a two month high following ECB president Mario Draghi’s call to revive inflation through further stimulus programmes to help boost the economy.

On the local front, the announcement that all petrol subsidies will be removed effective 1 Dec 2014 is positive for the government’s finances, which will be hit by the slide in crude oil prices.

The FBM KLCI rose 1.36% to close at 1,833.8 points.

 My portfolio increased in line with the FBM KLCI, with returns increasing by 0.24% to RM 103,627.40.

The portfolio started on 8 July 2014 with a capital of RM100,000. Since then, it has outperformed the FBM KLCI by 6.7%, and has registered an annualised return of 9.5%.

Total profits currently stand at RM 3,627.

After selling a large portion of my portfolio last Wednesday, I am now 36.2% invested and hold only two stocks, namely Willowglen and Crescendo. Both were up 1.2% and 0.4% respectively, yesterday.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on November 25, 2014.