BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
It was still very much an indifferent trend on Bursa Malaysia even though the key index managed to rebound yesterday in an otherwise listless trading day as leads were still far-and-in between.
The rebound was due in part to the mild pickup on Genting Bhd shares as it looks to open its Las Vegas resort in June, while glove maker stocks faltered again on profit taking.
Meanwhile, the broader market stayed mixed with most stocks still range-bound albeit traded volumes rose past eight billion shares for the day.
With Malaysian equities still devoid of noteworthy catalysts, we think the indifferent trend is likely to stay for the time being as market players are also keeping a keen eye on the pandemic conditions that has worsened globally.
While this could benefit glove makers and other healthcare stocks, other main market equities could still waver as their earnings recovery outlook could dim with the faltering demand caused by ongoing restricted movements.
Therefore, market conditions would still be iffy with most market players opting to stay on the sidelines until there is a clearer market prognosis.
This also means that the FBM KLCI is likely to stay within the 1,600 and 1,615 levels over the near term with the other support and resistance levels pegged at 1,590 and 1,620 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
The FBM KLCI bucked regional downtrend to close higher on the back of bargain hunting activities in selected beaten-down stocks.
Although market sentiment may remain tepid tracking the overnight losses on Wall Street, the local bourse may be supported by buying interest in high earning certainty stocks ahead of the earnings season.
Meanwhile, crude oil price (CPO) price has seen a surge back above RM3,800/metric tonne level following a mild pullback in the previous session.
The FBM KLCI rebounded from previous-session losses to close above the daily EMA20 level. Technical indicators have turned positive as the MACD Histogram turned green, while the RSI was hovering above the 50 level.
We expect traders to stay on the sidelines to monitor for further leads with resistance pegged along 1,615-1,635, while support is set at 1,545-1,565. – April 21, 2021
