BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
Although the key index managed to push past the 1,600 level, the upsides were more modest as the market turned choppier due to the already overbought conditions.
Nevertheless, sustained gains among plantation stocks allowed the FBM KLCI to remain positive for the seventh consecutive session.
There were also sustained gains among the lower liners and broader market shares that helped gainers to stay ahead of losers. Meanwhile, traded volumes rose to near the 4.0 billion shares mark for the day.
Despite the renewed geopolitical concerns in Eastern Europe that led to the subsequent weakness in key global indices overnight, Malaysian equities are likely to hold up for the most part due to the continuing interest in commodity stocks.
There could still be mild bouts of profit taking but the key index should continue to hold its position around the psychological 1,600 level for the time being with the continuing buying support on some of the index heavyweight.
At the same time, the latest round of results reporting was generally an improvement and this should continue to provide support to the market despite the still overbought market conditions.
For now, the 1,600 level will be the immediate support followed by the 1,590 level. The resistances, meanwhile, are at 1,610 and 1,615 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
While global stock markets continued to be spooked by the flared-up tension between Ukraine and Russia, the FBM KLCI managed to hold above the 1,600 psychological level inn view of rallies in plantation heavyweights as well as positioning ahead of the reporting season.
Given the firm crude palm oil (CPO) and crude oil prices, we expect sentiment on both sectors to remain positive at least for the near term.
Meanwhile, we noticed consumer and construction sectors have started their rebound recently; the consumer sector is expected to provide solid growth in their upcoming earnings following Berjaya Food Bhd’s result last week.
The FBM KLCI ended with mild gains after wiping off most of the intraday profit, extending its gains for the seventh straight session.
Technical indicators remained positive as the MACD stayed above the zero level while the RSI hovered around the overbought region. The next resistance is located at 1,620 while the support is now set around 1,570-1,580. – Feb 18, 2022
