BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
The FBM KLCI broke its downward streak yesterday on what is seen as mild window dressing for November that also enabled it to close above the psychological 1,450 level.
However, overall market conditions were generally subdued as the mild support was largely limited to index-linked companies as the broader market stayed mixed-to-lower.
As a result, market breadth was still negative but there was a pick-up in traded volumes to 4.25 billion shares for the day as foreign players dominated trades.
While yesterday’s rebound was welcomed, it now remains whether the key index could sustain its gains at the start of the final month of the year.
As it is, there is still a dearth of leads to encourage fresh buying and the recent market activities were largely seen as portfolio realignment exercises.
At the same time, there will be fewer market leads as the corporate results reporting season ends albeit the reported results did little to shore up market interest.
Nevertheless, the key index could attempt to stay above the 1,450 level for now as it looks to find more stability after its recent pull-back.
The overnight gains on Wall Street may provide some impetus for the FBM KLCI to find some solace and to regain some strength before the year is out. Below the 1,450 support, the other is at 1,445 points while the resistances are at 1,455 points and at the 1,457-1,460 levels.
Malacca Securities Research
The FBM KLCI finally stalled a three-day losing streak with a bullish engulfing bar as bargain-hunting activities have emerged.
Also, Wall Street ended the month with a solid performance where three of its benchmark indices gained more than 8% with the cooling inflation data; PCE (personal consumption expenditures) came in within expectations, rising 0.2% month-on-month and 3.5% year-on-year.
Given the strong boost on Wall Street, we believe the overall market conditions could perform better on the local front.
On the commodity markets, Brent crude prices traded higher towards the US$84.50/barrel zone before closing around the US$80/barrel level as the production cuts from OPEC+ by another 1.2 million barrel per day were below the market’s expectations.
The FBM KLCI rebounded by breaking out of the bullish flag formation. The technical readings on the key index are positive with the MACD Histogram forming a rounding bottom formation while the RSI hooked above the 50 level.
The resistance is pegged around 1,460-1,465 while the support is at 1,430-1,440. – Dec 1, 2023
