BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Berjaya Research
Malaysian equities ended 2025 on a soft note with the key index in the negative territory the entire session on the lack of market interest where only 1.9 billion shares exchanged hands.
However, the FBM KLCI managed to recoup most of its intraday losses on an end-of-day pick-up of selective index linked stocks while the broader market indices were mixed.
Market breadth was also on the negative side due to the insipid market following.
Trading at the start of the new year is likely to see a continuation of the lacklustre market conditions with few noteworthy leads available to shore up investor interest.
At the same time, market participation is likely to remain subdued on the extended holidays that would leave the key index to continue drifting for now.
Under the prevailing environment, the 1,680 level which is also its highest level in some 15 months, appears precarious and may not hold due to the lack of fresh buying interest.
The technical indicators are also still toppish and is likely to undergo further consolidation. Nevertheless, a pullback is seen as healthy for the key index to take a breather from last December’s gains.
The immediate support is pegged at 1,675 points, followed by 1,665 points. The resistances, meanwhile, are at 1,685 points and 1,694 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
We believe the FBM KLCI will undergo some profit-taking activities after the year-end rally but we continue to favour Malayan Banking Bhd, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd and RHB Bank Bhd due to their attractive dividends of more than 5%.
As we enter 2026, selected consumer and tourism-related counters such as Oriental Kopi Holdings Bhd, Aquawalk Group Bhd and Life Water Bhd are expected to benefit from Visit Malaysia 2026 (VMY 2026) and a stronger ringgit environment.
Lastly, Sime Darby Bhd saw a breakout as investors could be speculating that there might be a spike in EV (electric vehicle) sales before the end-2025 tax deadline while the UMW Holdings Bhd acquisition will provide growth via Perodua’s dominance in the car market.
Despite the minor retreatment on Wednesday, the FBM KLCI index is still trading on a bullish upward momentum with the MACD histogram in a positive territory while the RSI is slightly above 70.
Resistance is anticipated around 1,695-1,700 while support is located at 1,660-1,665. – Jan 2, 2025
