This lacklustre performance for Bursa has triggered some politically motivated rhetoric in recent days. But the fact is that stocks have fared poorly for far longer — well before the change in government. Case in point: The FBM KLCI has fallen in four of the last five years. So, if not politically related, why has the Malaysian stock market done so badly?
SINGAPORE (June 24): It was another good week for US stocks. President Donald Trump tweeted that he would meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Japan this week to revive stalled trade talks, giving investors one more reason to push stock prices higher. Earlier this month, stocks rallied on expectations that the US Federal Reserve would cut interest rates in the near future. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Standard & Poor’s 500 index are within a stone’s throw from their all-time record highs.
Stock markets around the world too gained on the improved sentiment. Relevant bellwether indices in the region including Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, China and Japan are all sitting on gains for the year-to-date. The one standout is Bursa Malaysia’s FBM KLCI, which is down 0.9% so far this year.
