BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
Malaysian stocks retreated yesterday after its upside streak into the last few trading days of August ended with profit taking activities taking hold.
The sell-off was also in tandem with the weakness among regional indices as China’s manufacturing activities remained on a low gear.
Most Bursa indices were in the red, including many broader market shares and lower liners that resulted in total losers overwhelming gainers on a ratio of more than 2-to-1.
After failing to hold on to the 1,500 level, market conditions are becoming more subdued as buying support may be thinning ahead of the weekend that could again leave the key index to drift again.
Already, buying activity has been selective over the past few sessions that allowed the FBM KLCI to make headway but this may now be slower due to the fewer impetuses and increasingly cautious market environment.
This may see the key index ending the week on a mostly indifferent mode as support could also be waning as market players scour for fresh market confidence.
The immediate support is at the 1,490 points followed by the 1,487 and the 1,480 levels. On the flipside, the immediate hurdle is at the 1,500 level with the next resistances pegged at the 1,505-1510 levels.
Malacca Securities Research
The FBM KLCI violated the 1,500 psychological level as profit-taking emerged amid a persistent downtrend on Wall Street.
We believe the uncertainties on the global front, coupled with the falling commodity prices will continue to weigh on investors’ sentiment over the near term.
Despite the Dow Jones having turned mildly higher, we expect bargain hunting activities to emerge on counters with defensive nature and solid earnings that were released recently.
Brent crude oil price hovered around US$92/barrel mark while crude palm oil (CPO) was traded below RM4,000/metric tonne. Meanwhile, gold price fell below the US$1,700/oz level.
The FBM KLCI snapped a four-session winning streak to close below its daily EMA60 level. Technical indicators, however, turned positive as the MACD Histogram moved above zero while the RSI hovered above the 50 level.
Support is located at 1,450-1,465 while resistance is pegged at 1,530-1,550. – Sept 2, 2022
