Property, construction blue chips will lead stock market

Property and construction blue chips such as Sunway Bhd, UOA Development Bhd, Mahsing Group Bhd, Glomac Bhd, Gamuda Bhd, IJM Corp Bhd, WCT Bhd and Kimlun Corp Bhd are expected to lead Bursa Malaysia's uptrend post-general election, says an analyst.

Affin Investment Bank Vice-President/Head of Retail Research Dr Nazri Khan said given the positive post-election sentiment and upside from properties and construction, these sectors are well positioned for the continuity of previous Economic Transformation Programme policies.

"The local benchmark FBMKLCI is expected to hit the 1800 level (led by the property and construction sectors) as the focus shifts to the continuity of pro-economic-growth policies following the win of the incumbent government on the May 5," he told Bernama.

Nazri said local property and construction stocks have been showing the strongest market leadership post-election.

"That is usually a good sign for the rest of the stock market. We believe property and construction stocks have at least two positive factors to sustain the broad market rally -- early stage chart uptrends and fundamentally low price relative to the rest of the market," he said.

He said the construction index hit a 13-month high while the property index recorded a major bullish breakout since 2000 (a 13-year high).

Nazri stressed that an upside by economically-sensitive property and construction stocks is a necessary ingredient in a healthy stock market advance.

He said after lagging badly behind during the last three years, properties and construction have been rising faster than other sectors since the start of 2013.

"The fact that the bullish breakout in the property and construction sectors is relatively recent makes it the best rotational choice for post-general election play," he said.