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 stumble on the sell-down of some of the key index linked constituents by foreign funds that remained net sellers, offsetting the US Federal Reserve’s indication of further interest rate cuts.
As it is, overall market conditions were still tentative despite the key index starting on a positive note for the day.
On the broader market, however, the lower liners’ recovery was sustained with the continuing bargain hunting that allowed market breadth to turn positive but traded volumes slipped to 2.7 billion shares.
Near-term market conditions are still uncertain after the key index failed to preserve its gains from the recent bounce, thus leaving market conditions uncertain for the time being.
The persistent selling by foreign funds is dealing further blows to the FBM KLCI’s recovery hopes and is likely to keep the key index from mounting a meaningful rebound ahead of the weekend.
Consequently, the downside bias remains for now due to the lack of fresh buying impetuses with the trade disruptions and slowing global economic growth to continue affecting market sentiments.
On the downside, the supports are at the 1,500 level, followed by the 1,495 level. The resistances, on the other hand, are pegged at 1,512-1,514 levels with the ensuing resistance set at 1,520 points.
Malacca Securities Research
The local bourse closed lower for the second day, driven by selling pressure in selected hospital and banking heavyweights.
In the US, all three indices snapped their one-day gains as the US Fed kept its expectation of two rate cuts this year.
The Fed further revised its GDP (gross domestic product) growth downward from 2.1% to 1.7% while raising its PCE (personal consumption expenditures) inflation forecast to 2.8% from 2.5% for the year.
Uncertainties over President Trump’s tariffs also weighed on companies, interrupting their plans and capital spending.
Meanwhile, Malaysia will release its February CPI (Consumer Price Index) data today.
In the commodities market, Brent crude edged up towards US$72/barrel while gold declined marginally below US$3,050/oz but CPO (crude palm oil) rebounded above the RM4,400/metric tonne level.
The key index continued to trade below the EMA bands with mixed technical indicators whereby the MACD histogram expanded positively while the RSI is approaching its negative territory.
Resistance is anticipated around 1,519-1,524 while support is set at 1,484-1,489. – March 21, 2025
