BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
Window dressing activities continued to drive the FBM KLCI higher last Friday, reaching its highest level in six weeks with gains in selected heavyweights like Tenaga Nasional Bhd and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd pushing up the key index.
The positivity also extended to the lower liners with many sector indices also making headway that extended their gains on window dressing activities.
This also allowed market breadth to stay on the positive side but volumes were little changed from a day earlier.
The on-going window dressing activities could be reaching its climax ahead of the last two days of trading for 2024.
Market players are already looking ahead to 2025’s equity market prospects which is expected to be more challenging amid a weaker economic expectation and slower fiscal and economic loosening outlook.
For now, we think the window dressing activities could sustain as there are still few signs of it terminating but the upsides are likely to be modest after the sharp rebound over the past few sessions may give rise to profit taking activities ahead of the new year break on Wednesday.
The buying interest may also wane as there is little change to the market fundamentals. On the upside, the hurdles are between the 1,630 and 1,633 levels, followed by the 1,640 level. The supports, meanwhile, are at 1,620 points and 1,615 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
The local front gained momentum, buoyed by buying support in utilities heavyweights like Tenaga Nasional, following the proposed tariff hike for 2H 2025 onwards and year-end window dressing activities.
In the US, technology heavyweights weighed on Wall Street sentiment in the final stretch of the year.
This week, traders will keep track of the key economic data like the US unemployment claims and the ISM Manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index).
In the commodities market, Brent crude traded within a tight range of US$73/barrel while gold fluctuated between US$2,610- US$2,640/oz with both maintaining a negative biased. However, CPO (crude palm oil) prices rebounded strongly by closing above the RM4,600/metric tonne mark.
The FBM KLCI closed on a bullish note after breaking above the EMA60. The MACD histogram has turned positive while the RSI has crossed above 50, suggesting that the momentum is positive at the current juncture.
Resistance is anticipated around 1,643-1,648 while support is set at 1,608-1,613. – Dec 30, 2024
