BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
Malaysian equities experienced a relief rally yesterday in line with global equities after the US paused reciprocal tariffs for 90 days to allow for negotiations.
This saw the key index rebound from its 20-month low of 1,400 to end the day with more than 60 points gain, aided by a strong bargain hunting on some of the recently beaten down market leaders.
The positivity also allowed total gainers to beat losers by a 10-to-2 ratio with the FBM ACE and FBM Small Cap indices rebounding 4%-5% each.
Yesterday relief rally was welcomed to break the dour market trend that engulfed the market for the past few sessions, bringing some measure of calmness to the wretched equity market conditions.
After the hefty gains, however, there could be bouts of quick profit taking activities ahead of the weekend that may slow the market’s recovery.
While the market conditions are calmer, there remains uncertainties over the tariffs and the FBM KLCI’s performance could still be affected by tariff developments, particularly the potential impact of the standard 10% tariff imposed on Malaysian exports into the US.
Amid the lingering tariff uncertainties, coupled with the pullback on Wall Street overnight, bouts of selling may emerge in the day ahead that could send the key index lower again.
On the downside, the supports are at 1,451 and 1,443 points while the resistances are at the 1,484-1,487 levels, followed by the psychological 1,500 level.
Malacca Securities Research
Given that the current US tariff spread between Chinese and Malaysian medical gloves exceeds 100%, we believe local glove players stand to benefit significantly as the price gap between the two markets widens.
Also, easing raw material prices and a weak ringgit environment could further boost glove demand and profitability.
Besides, with the ban reversal of NVIDIA’s H20 AI chips to China, we see trading opportunities within data centre-related counters like NationGate Holdings Bhd as the softer policy tone could provide short-term relief to the sector.
Lastly, we think the defensive sectors like utilities, consumer and REITs could weather through the uncertain trade war environment at least for the near term.
The key index closed higher but continued to trend below the MA (moving average) lines with technical indicators showing dismal signals at the current juncture; the MACD histogram expanded negatively while the RSI has rebounded off the oversold territory.
Resistance is anticipated around 1,478-1,483 while support is set at 1,443-1,448. – April 11, 2025
