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 took a dive yesterday, surrendering some of the gains from the recent upsides amid profit taking activities ahead of the Lunar New Year break next week.
Concerns over President Trump’s trade policies also give rise to fresh uncertainties and this saw most Bursa stocks indices pulling back, leaving losers to overwhelm gainers by more than a 2-to-1 ratio amid sustained foreign fund net selling as well.
However, there was a pick-up in market activities that saw traded volumes rising 9% for the day.
There could be further profit taking ahead of the weekend, undoing some of the recent gains as follow through buying momentum is still sketchy, undermined by the persistent selling by foreign investors.
Their selling spree could still leave stocks to drift over the near term, bucking the positive trend of the “Trump bump” effect on Wall Street as these funds could still leave Malaysian shores for potentially higher returns elsewhere.
Under the prevailing environment, the volatility on Bursa Malaysia is likely to persist with the immediate support pegged at 1,575 points, followed by 1,570 level. The hurdles, on the other hand, are at the 1,583-1,586 levels with the ensuing resistance at 1,590 points which is also the most recent high.
Malacca Securities Research
The local bourse snapped its four-day winning streak with all eyes focusing on ACE Market debutant Oriental Kopi Holdings Bhd’s IPO (initial public offering) which surged more than 100% before closing at 87.5 sen.
In the US, markets rose following optimism from President Trump’s World Economic Forum speech where he announced plans to urge OPEC nations to lower oil prices to curb inflation and pushing for further interest rates cut.
Investors will also be monitoring Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) interest rate decision today whereby the BOJ governor has signalled potential rate hikes.
In the commodities market, Brent crude remains below the US$80/barrel mark following Trump’s speech. Gold price traded flat along the US$2750.oz level while CPO (crude palm oil) prices rebounded marginally above the RM4,200/metric tonne zone.
The index retraced after hitting the 20-day moving average. However, technical indicators are showing recovery signs with the RSI rebounded off the oversold zone while the MACD Histogram closed at its positive territory.
Resistance is anticipated around 1,592-1,597 while support is set at 1,557-1,562. – Jan 24, 2025
