BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Berjaya Research
THE FBM KLCI extended its gains on Tuesday, tracking the positive sentiment across regional markets.
The broader market, however, remained downbeat as market breadth stayed fragile with 663 decliners overpowering 463 advancers.
However, trading activities improved with 3.25 billion shares exchanging hands as compared to 2.73 billion shares in the prior session, suggesting heightened participation despite the cautious broader market tone.
The FBM KLCI is expected to trade cautiously with a slight consolidation bias as investors adopt a wait-and-see stance ahead of the US ISM Services PMI release.
While global cues remain influential, the near-term direction of the local benchmark is likely to hinge on prevailing risk sentiment and foreign fund flow trends.
A firmer US services reading could bolster risk appetite with potential positive spill-over into Malaysian equities.
Given subtle signs of intraday profit-taking observed domestically yesterday, sentiment may remain tentative with the key index trading with a mild downward bias tone in the near term as investors re-assess their positions amid external macro uncertainties.
For now, the immediate resistances remain located at 1,750 points and 1,770 points respectively. Meanwhile, the immediate support is at 1,720 points, followed by the 1,700 psychological level
Malacca Securities Research
In view of Wall Street’s lacklustre overnight performance, we expect the FBM KLCI to follow suit.
However, a favourable US-Malaysia interest rate differential and positive foreign inflows should support the ringgit which bodes well for the banking and consumer segments.
Hence, we believe Public Bank Bhd provides exposure to the latter given it has lagged behind other banking stocks while 99 Speed Mart Retail Holdings Bhd and Life Water Bhd (LWSABAH) are proxies for the VMY26 (Visit Malaysia 2026) theme alongside an anticipated lower input-cost environment.
Besides Sabah being a strategic tourism destination, we believe LWSABAH’s forward PER (price-to-earnings ratio) remains discounted relative to Spritzer Bhd which should provide ample room for near-term upside.
The local bourse began the week on a stronger footing. However, technical indicators remain mixed with the MACD histogram still in positive territory while the RSI has stayed lower below the 70 level.
Resistance is expected around 1,763-1,768 with support seen at 1,728-1,733. – Feb 4, 2026
