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 continues to make headway amid sustained bargain hunting on some of the beaten down sector leaders.
Much of the gains, however, emerged late in the day after a choppy morning session as lingering concerns over an escalating trade war weigh on sentiments.
Most lower liners also rose as more market players returned from the Chinese New Year holidays with traded volumes rising to just shy of 3 billion shares for the day, thus enabling market breadth to stay on the positive side.
Despite the lingering concerns over the trade war, market conditions appear to be calmer after President Trump delayed its implementation on Canadian and Mexican products that could still fuel further gains on Bursa Malaysia.
As it is, bargain hunting is still prevalent and may lift stock prices higher over the near term.
At the same time, the seemingly easing foreign institutional selling could allow the key index to find some measure of stability and to mount a more meaningful recovery.
With the calmer market undertone, the near-term upsides should persist with the FBM KLCI to target the 1,585 and the 1,590 level even as there could be bouts of profit taking ahead of the weekend that may slow its ascend.
On the downside, the supports are pegged at 1,574-1,577 points, followed by the 1,570 level.
Malacca Securities Research
The local bourse edged higher for the fourth day, buoyed by gains in Maybank and Petronas Gas Bhd.
In the US, Wall Street closed mixed with S&P 500 and Nasdaq posting gains but the Dow ended lower as initial jobless claims data came in higher than expected.
All eyes will now be on the non-farm payrolls later today which will enable the US Federal Reserve to determine the path of interest rates ahead.
In the commodities market, Brent crude dipped towards US$74.30/barrel following US president Donald Trump’s renewed pledge on bringing down oil prices while gold prices retreated marginally from its all-time high to trade around US$2,856 level/oz.
Meanwhile, CPO (crude palm oil) prices regained momentum to break above the RM4,400/metric tonne mark.
The key index surpassed its EMA20 with technical indicators showing positive signs, including a positive MACD histogram just started to form while the RSI is trending off its oversold zone.
Resistance is anticipated around 1,600-1,605 while support is set at 1,565-1,570. – Feb 7, 2025
