BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
There key index retreated further last Friday by giving up its intraday gains late in the session amid continuing profit taking on selected index linked stocks.
Consequently, the FBM KLCI ended the week a tad below the 1,455-support level. On the whole, market interest was relatively benign as most market players were already on their holidays.
Meanwhile, market breadth was relatively mixed with losers just edging winners for the day. Traded volumes also slipped to below the 3.0 billion units level.
We see conditions remaining directionless in the day ahead with market participants still on their break and with fewer market leads to entice fresh buying.
As a result, the key index is likely to maintain its directionless trading trend over the near term that could see the key index retaining its drifting mode.
The lack of buying could also see the FBM KLCI losing further ground after the 1,455 level gave way last Friday and the 1,450-1,452 levels are coming into play.
We think these levels should hold for the time being as the selling pressure is relatively benign and there could still be support for the key index to remain above these levels for now. The other support is at 1,445 points while the immediate resistance is at 1,455 points, followed by the 1,460 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
The FBM KLCI digested the recent gains for the third session as profit taking activities emerged within the banking heavyweights.
Similarly, the US stock markets trended sideways after a long stretch of upward trending movements.
We believe the market is still pricing in the dovish statements from the US Federal Reserves coupled with the recent inflation data that came in within expectations.
Given the US GDP (gross domestic product) is still growing for 3Q 2023 and both the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index and CPI (Consumer Price Index) were increasing at a moderate pace, we expect global markets to trend higher over the near term.
Hence, we believe buying support may return to the local front heading into the final week of window dressing activities. On the commodity markets, Brent crude prices maintained around the US$80/barrel level.
The FBM KLCI ended marginally lower, consolidating for the third session. The technical readings on the key index were mixed with the MACD Histogram forming a rounding top formation while the RSI maintains above the 50 level.
The resistance is envisaged around 1,470-1,480 while the support is set at 1,440-1,450. – Dec 26, 2023
