BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
Bursa Malaysia stocks extended their recovery on Monday – its third consecutive day of gains and making big moves along with key global and regional indices to climb back above the 1,520 level.
This time, the gains were on optimism that China will introduce more stimulus measures as well as from the relief rally on beaten down US stocks.
The lower liners also sustained their recovery with total gainers comfortably ahead of losers.
Although the recent recovery is welcomed to break the downward streak, conditions are still fluid for the most part due to the on-off US tariffs on its major trading partners.
In view of the increasingly uncertain global economic environment, the year’s GDP (gross domestic product) forecast has also been trimmed and may likely see more revision in the months ahead.
In the interim, the recent recovery on Bursa Malaysia may see further leg ups ahead but volatility is also likely to pick up with gains becoming more measured as bouts of profit taking could emerge after the three-days of gains.
On the upside, the 1,536 resistance level will come into play, followed by the 1,541 level. The supports, on the other hand, are at 1,520 points and 1,514 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
The local bourse traded higher with banking heavyweights leading the key index.
In the US, all three indices traded lower, dragged down by technology giants including Tesla, Palantir and Nvidia despite the latter announced new chips in its GTC conference.
Meanwhile, the White House stated that President Trump and President Putin had agreed to seek a limited ceasefire on Ukraine’s energy and infrastructure for 30 days.
All eyes are now on the two-day FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meeting although the US Federal Reserve is widely expected to maintain its interest rate.
Additionally, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will also be announcing its interest rate decision for Japan today.
In the commodities market, Brent crude continued to hover above US$70/barrel while gold prices remained flat above the US$3,000/oz range. Meanwhile, CPO (crude palm oil) fell below the RM4,400/metric tonne level.
Despite closing higher for the third consecutive day, the key index continued to trade below the EMA bands with mixed technical indicators. The MACD histogram is still below zero while the RSI rebounded off the oversold territory.
Resistance is anticipated around 1,542-1,547 while support is set at 1,507-1,512. – March 19, 2025
