BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
There were more gains on Bursa Malaysia yesterday as the key index recovered for a second straight session, casting aside the weak closing on Wall Street a day earlier.
Much of the FBM KLCI’s gains were in tandem with the sustained recovery among regional indices amid the easing Israel-Iran tensions.
Similarly, the lower liners also sustained their recovery with the FBM Small Cap and ACE market indices heading higher. Market breadth was positive with traded volumes rising 11%.
The key index has done well to shrug-off the near-term market headwinds to remain steadfast of late and to also stay near the 1,550 level.
This could still allow the FBM KLCI to recover further with domestic institutions providing the buying support in view of the increased selling by foreign funds and the key index could look to retest the above level again.
Notwithstanding the calmer conditions over the past two sessions, the broad market conditions are still wavy as concerns over the direction of global interest rates are now dominating sentiments.
With US interest rates likely to remain higher-for-longer, interest on Asian and Malaysian stocks could be affected further.
Therefore, market volatility could stay and stall further recovery prospects. Near-term supports are at 1,540 and 1,535 point while the immediate resistance is at the 1,550 level, followed by the 1,554-1,558 levels.
Malacca Securities Research
The FBM KLCI extended its rebound for the second consecutive day as bargain hunting activities emerged in tandem with the movements of the broader market.
Meanwhile, sentiment on Wall Street turned more negative throughout the session with mixed economic data being released; (i) jobless claims were below consensus expectations; (ii) factory data beat estimates; and (iii) home sales were weaker than expectations.
On the commodity front, Brent crude price traded along US$86-US$87/barrel while crude palm oil (CPO) price fell below RM4.000/metric tonne amid expectations of rising output and slowing demand after the Eid al-Fitr festive season. However, gold price is still hovering above US$2,350/oz.
The FBM KLCI index ended higher for the second consecutive day. The technical readings on the key index were mixed with the MACD Histogram extending another negative bar while the RSI climbed above 50.
The resistance is envisaged around 1,560-1,565 while the support is set at 1,525-1,530. – April 19, 2024
