BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Berjaya Research
The FBM KLCI staged a mild pullback after recovering much of its intraday losses with the weakness largely in tandem with the broadly negative performance across regional markets.
Trading activity eased with market volume declining to 3.31 billion shares from 3.66 billion shares in the previous session.
Market breadth remained negative with 700 decliners outpacing 478 advancers, signalling persistent weakness across the broader market.
Looking ahead, we expect cautious trading to persist as investors remain wary of developments surrounding the Middle East geopolitical situation, particularly given the potential implications for oil prices, inflation and global risk sentiment.
Meanwhile, the latest Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes are likely to reinforce a mixed policy outlook as the US Federal Reserve remains caught between elevated inflation risks and signs of softer economic conditions.
The Fed held rates at 3.50%-3.75% at its July meeting while three policymakers dissented in favour of a rate hike, highlighting the on-going uncertainty over the interest-rate path.
Technically, the key index has formed a dragonfly candlestick to sustain above the EMA20 level. The immediate resistances are envisaged at 1,742 points, followed by 1,750 points. Meanwhile, near-term supports are pegged at 1,711 points and 1,700 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
Tracking the overnight rebound on Wall Street, we expect the FBM KLCI to follow suit today.
Meanwhile, we continue to favour IOI Properties Group Bhd whereby owning 10 IOIPG shares will entitle investors to buy one IOI REIT unit via its upcoming restricted offer while sentiment might also bode well for IOICORP following elevated CPO (crude palm oil) prices.
Riding on Intel’s advanced packaging expansion, investors could take position in 3REN Bhd which has also recently applied for the Malaysian government’s Arm Technology Access Initiative.
Lastly, Empire Premium Food Bhd remains on our radar, supported by an expansion plan to open 15 more outlets by end-3/FY2027, thus bringing the total to 158 outlets.
The FBM KLCI retreated with underlying indicators reflecting mixed signals at the current juncture with the MACD histogram hovering below the zero level while the RSI is holding above 50.
Overhead resistance is located around1,746-1,751 while support is anchored at 1,711-1,716. – Aug 20, 2026
