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 lose ground, affected by the continuing concerns over the state of the global economy that is still weighing on the market sentiment and corresponding lack of buying interest.
Tariffs and higher-for-longer interest rate are still in focus and as a result, the selling pressure continues to dominate trades with total losers again well ahead of gainers.
The lower liners are again in a sea of red as selling activities escalated on these stocks.
There is no change to the immediate market outlook with market conditions likely to stay morbid due to the lack of impetuses.
As it is, market sentiments remain wary over President Trump’s tariff threats and with the AI theme also fading, the downside pressure is set to persist into the final trading day of the week.
With the outlook still clouded, there could well be more near-term downsides. Even as there has been some mild support on some of the key index constituents, the FBM KLCI may retreat to its immediate support at 1,575 points.
If the level fails to hold, the ensuing supports are at 1,570 and 1,566 points respectively. The resistances, on the other hand, are at 1,580 points and 1,585 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
The local bourse continued to decline amid selling pressure in chemicals and banking heavyweights.
Similarly, Wall Street reversed its gains after retail giant Walmart unveiled a weaker sales outlook for FY2026, raising questions among investors about the US economy outlook.
Today, investors will be looking into the (i) S&P Global Manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index); (ii) Japan’s January 2025 Core CPI (Consumer Price Index); and (iii) Malaysia’s January 2025 CPI data.
In the commodities market, Brent crude gained marginally above US$76/barrel, gold price is trading near its all-time high while CPO (crude palm oil) prices continue to rebound nearer to RM4,700/metric tonne.
The key index continues to hover below the EMAs band with technical indicators turning weaker. The MACD Histogram has turned negative while the RSI continues to point downward, indicating weaker sentiment at this juncture.
Resistance is anticipated around 1,592-1597 while support is set at 1,557-1,562. – Feb 21, 2025
