BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
There was a quick rebound on the FBM KLCI as it bucked the performance of the largely morbid regional markets to be one of the few leading lights in Asia yesterday.
Much of the upsides were due to the return of foreign funds as they emerged as net buyers for the day.
The positivity also extended to most lower liners as this enabled total gainers to outpace losing stocks. Nevertheless, fresh buying interest was still tepid as it is barely changed from a day earlier.
Yesterday’s rebound still keeps the key index within its range-bound trend which we see continuing over the near-term due to the prevailing low market following.
Market participants will also be on the sidelines for much of the day as they await the unveiling of Budget 2025 late in the afternoon for fresh leads.
This could again leave the key index to drift for the time being albeit selling pressure is relatively benign for now except for the bouts of profit taking actions.
Therefore, the key index could linger close to the 1,640 levels for now much of the day. On the upside, the hurdles are at the 1,643-1,645 levels, followed by 1,650 points while the supports are at 1,635 and 1,632 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
The Bursa exchange ended on a positive note with the FBM KLCI trading higher above 1,640 while the FBM Small Cap Index rebounded ahead of the Budget 2025.
In the US, Wall Street recorded another positive session after TSMC reported better-than-expected earnings and an optimistic outlook, driven by AI-led growth which contributed to a rally in most technology heavyweights.
The Dow also closed at fresh highs. Additionally, US retail sales exceeded expectations while unemployment claims were in line with consensus estimates.
In the commodities markets, Brent crude rebounded from its intraday low to end flat after US inventories saw an unexpected drop last week.
Gold prices surged closer to US$2,700/oz while CPO (crude palm oil) prices remained sideways in the uptrend phase, ranging between RM4,250-RM4,300/metric tonne as the market could be awaiting a breakout.
The FBM KLCI index closed lower at the 1,641.44 level. Meanwhile, the technical readings on the key index are improving with the MACD histogram extended another positive histogram but the RSI is still below 50.
The resistance is envisaged around 1,656-1,661 while the support is set at 1,621-1,626. – Oct 18, 2024
