BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Berjaya Research
The FBM KLCI retreated on Thursday, snapping a streak of seven consecutive winning sessions as profit taking activities took precedence.
Selling pressure was evident across utilities heavyweights. Meanwhile, trading volume eased to 2.0 billion shares from 2.7 billion shares in the prior session as the negative market sentiment curbed overall trading interest, including on the broader market.
The long-anticipated pullback took place on the key index yesterday which has been teetering in the overbought territory as of late.
We view this retracement as a healthy pause which provides room for the recent gains to be consolidated before fresh momentum takes hold.
On the domestic front, investors will be closely monitoring Malaysia’s 2Q 2025 GDP (gross domestic product) data due for release later today with stronger-than-expected figures potentially offering further support to the FBM KLCI.
Elsewhere, the release of both China and the US retail sales and industrial production data will offer insights into the economic health of the world’s two largest economies.
Technically, the FBM KLCI has formed a shooting star candle, retreating from its three-month high and may head towards the near-term support at 1,567 points with next support located at 1,550 points.
Should the rally resume, however, the immediate resistance is located at the 1,600 psychological level, followed by 1,606 points.
Malacca Securities Research
Tracking Wall Street’s mixed performance, we expect further profit-taking activities to emerge on the local bourse.
However, traders may shift their attention to plantation stocks like Johor Plantations Group Bhd which posted +50% year-on-year (yoy) growth in its bottom-line.
Besides, we believe the overall data centre theme will continue to support the construction, mechanical and electrical (M&E) and utility segments in the near term with the latter also being boosted by the government’s National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) initiative.
While the technology sector has pulled back, we expect the Apple’s US$100 bil investment pledge could provide support for stocks like Unisem (M) Bhd, Inari Amerton Bhd and Frontken Corp Bhd.
The local bourse took a breather on Thursday yet still well above all the MA (moving average) lines with technical indicators are mixed positive at the current juncture; the MACD histogram has expanded above zero but the RSI is near overbought region.
Resistance is anticipated around 1,696-1,601 while support is located at 1,561-1,566. – Aug 15, 2025
