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 losing streak for a sixth consecutive session on Wednesday, affected by the renewed volatility on Wall Street overnight.
Trading activity, however, improved with 4.15 billion shares that was partly attributed to the market debut of SkyeChip Bhd from 3.36 billion shares previously.
Market breadth remained negative with 840 decliners trouncing 366 advancers, suggesting that selling pressure was broad-based.
Looking ahead, the FBM KLCI could attempt to mount a recovery, taking cue from the positive developments on Wall Street overnight.
This will be supported by the lower US treasury yields as well as weaker crude oil prices after US President Donald Trump signalled that the geopolitical tensions in West Asia could come to an end soon.
Still, the recovery will be measured as the latest Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes meeting suggests several US Federal Reserve officials continues to lean onto a hawkish undertone.
Technically, the key index formed another bearish candlestick and violated the 1,725 support level. The next support is pegged at 1,712 points, followed by the 1,700 psychological level.
Meanwhile, the immediate resistance is envisaged at 1,737 points, followed by 1,750 points.
Malacca Securities Research
Tracking the rebound on Wall Street, we anticipate the FBM KLCI to recover as well.
Meanwhile, with signs of bottoming out in cocoa prices, Guan Chong Bhd remains one of our technical picks given its share price continues to hold above the MA200 (200-day moving average).
We also like the pullback toward the EMA20 shown by both ISF Group Bhd and Coraza Integrated Technology Bhd with the former benefitting from data centre (DC) infrastructure cooling projects while the latter benefits from strong demand from AI-driven front-end WFE (Wafer Fab Equipment).
Lastly, power solutions engineering company EI Power Bhd (M+ target price: 66 sern) will make its ACE Market debut today (March 21)
The FBM KLCI continued to retrace further with technical indicators showing weakening signals as the MACD histogram has expanded towards the negative territory while the RSI is trading below 50.
Resistance is seen around 1,732-1,737 with support at 1,697-1,702. – March 21, 2026
