BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
There is still no reprieve for local equities as the selling spree remains yesterday that resulted in another weak closing.
Sentiments stayed dour as the pandemic conditions continue to keep market confidence on a low gear.
This resulted in further selling by foreign sources that also left the key index at its lowest level in nine-months.
Many lower liners also remained in the doldrums but the technology index posted a strong bounce on bargain hunting on some of the beaten down sector leaders.
The near-term outlook remains uncertain amid the ongoing pandemic conditions and lack of leads to shore up fresh buying.
At the same time, overall market sentiments are affected by the ongoing political imbroglio that would keep the market environment cautious for longer.
Consequently, we do not see the market veering too far from its current trend with the downside bias likely to prolong as there is still little buying interest given most market players will adopt a wait-and-see stance.
This means that the key index may still consolidate to the 1,490 level and if it is breached, the next support is at 1,484 points.
On the upside, the 1,500 level is still the immediate hurdle, followed by the 1,510 level.
Malacca Securities Research
Bucking the regional uptrend, the FBM KLCI marked the third consecutive session of declines as investors again pulled back from the market amid continuing COVID-19 woes and recent political developments.
Investors are likely to be more cautious in selecting stocks given the heightened political uncertainties, but there might be some buying interest in companies with bright outlook amid the upcoming corporate earnings season.
Commodities-wise, both the crude palm oil (CPO) and crude oil prices declined.
The FBM KLCI pulled back further from the 1,500 level. Technical indicators remained negative as the MACD Histogram has extended another red bar, while the RSI hovered below the 50 level.
Investors are likely to trade in a cautious mode with the next support level set at 1,480, followed by 1,450 while the resistance is located at 1,500. – Aug 3, 2021
