KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia is expected to trade sideways this week amid cautious market sentiments due to external factors, namely continued worries over aggressive monetary tightening by the United States Federal Reserve going forward and a grim economic outlook forecast by the Bank of England.

       Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the local bourse would track global equities, which are expected to be volatile in the immediate term amid global monetary tightening.

       “This is because central banks globally are upping their arsenal to clamp down on inflationary pressures,” he told Bernama.

       At the same time, he said monetary policy divergence such as in China and Japan also suggests a mixed feeling over global growth prospects this year.