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 rebounded yesterday, ending its two-day downtrend on the emergence of mild bargain hunting in some of the recently beaten down heavyweights.
The recovery was also due in part to the US Federal Reserve hinting of interest rate cuts later in the year when inflation becomes manageable.
This also allowed most broader market indices to mount a rebound which allowed market breadth to turn positive albeit traded volumes being little changed from a day earlier.
Although yesterday’s rebound was welcomed to break the consolidation trend, the recovery was not widespread yet with foreign investors still taking the opportunity to reduce more of their winning positions, hence limiting the upsides.
Heading into the final trading day of the week, we still see market conditions remaining largely indifferent due to the absence of noteworthy leads.
However, the recovery from the mild bout of oversold could persist following Wall Street’s strong overnight performance.
Furthermore, sign of abating foreign selling may allow the key index to find some measure of stability.
On the upside, the immediate target is the 1,538 level, followed by the 1,545 level. The supports, on the other hand, remain at the 1,528-1,530 levels and the 1,520 level.
Malacca Securities Research
The FBM KLCI rebounded marginally as selected telco and banking stocks provided the support on the key index.
In the US, traders could be pricing in the US Fed and European Central Bank (ECB) statements by potentially looking at rate cuts happening this year. As such, buying support was noticed within the technology sector amid the on-going AI (artificial intelligence) frenzy.
For the FBM Small Cap, we expect further rebound to be seen after the recent consolidation phase.
On the commodity markets, Brent crude steadied above the US$83/barrel mark with the falling greenback index after the US Fed’s testimony while gold price continues to stay elevated around its all-time-high zone. Besides, the FCPO (crude palm oil futures) traded higher around RM4,050-RM4,100/metric tonne level.
After forming a hammer candle on the FBM KLCI, the key index rebounded. The technical readings on the key index, however, were negative with the MACD Histogram extending another negative bar while the RSI is approaching 50.
The resistance is envisaged around 1,545-1,555 while the support is set at 1,515-1,520. – March 8, 2024
