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 positive momentum for the third straight session on Friday as the key index climbed 1.4% week-on-week.
Trading activity improved with total market volume rising to 3.10 billion shares from 2.49 billion shares in the previous session.
Market breadth also turned positive with 713 advancers outpacing 407 decliners, implying a broad-based recovery.
Going forward, the FBM KLCI is expected to maintain its positive bias tone, supported by improving market breadth, renewed buying interest and sustained recovery momentum following recent gains.
Investors will continue to monitor upcoming manufacturing PMI data across key economies, including Malaysia, China and the US for further confirmation of global industrial recovery and external demand conditions.
While domestic manufacturing activity has shown resilience with Malaysia’s industrial output remaining supported by manufacturing growth, a weaker than-expected reading from major trading partners could put a dent onto sentiment given Malaysia’s position as an export-oriented economy.
Technically, the key index has formed another bullish candlestick. The immediate resistance remains located at 1,735 points, followed by 1,740 points. Meanwhile, near-term supports are pegged at 1,700 points and 1,686 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
In view of the rally on Wall Street coupled with the cancellation of a planned attack on Iran, we believe the FBM KLCI may extend its gains today, especially in the technology sector.
Meanwhile, we favour HSS Engineers Bhd underpinned by its (i) RM2.1 bil order book providing multi-year earnings visibility, (ii) structural tailwinds from domestic transport, water infrastructure and DC (data centre) projects; and (iii) earnings acceleration from major overseas contracts such as the RM1.5 bil Baghdad Metro JV contract.
Lastly, given the recovery in global tin prices, traders could also take positions in Malaysia Smelting Corp Bhd which has just experienced a breakout from consolidation.
While the FBM KLCI continued to extend its gains, the technical indicators are showing encouraging signals at the current juncture with the MACD histogram still recovering from the bottom while the RSI is hovering above 50.
Key resistance is pegged at 1,739-1,744 with support expected around 1,704-1,709. – Aug 3, 2026
