BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Berjaya Research
The FBM KLCI remained under pressure on Thursday alongside the weakness across regional markets, taking cue from the renewed volatility of US technology stocks overnight.
The broader market also ended lower, underscored by the negative market breadth where 922 decliners overwhelmed 279 advancers.
However, trading activities jumped to 3.83 billion shares as compared to 2.59 billion shares as broad-based selling activities escalated.
Looking ahead, the local benchmark is expected to remain cautious as investors adopt a wait-and-see stance ahead of the release of the US unemployment rate data later tonight which is widely viewed as a key gauge of labour market resilience and an important input into the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy assessment.
A stronger-than-expected labour market outcome could reignite concerns over a prolonged higher-for-longer interest rate environment, potentially dampening global risk appetite and triggering further foreign outflows from emerging markets.
With the volatility on Wall Street remaining unabated overnight, the FBM KLCI may continue to trade defensively with downside pressure staying on the fore in the near term.
Having the 1,733 points support breached, the next support is located at 1,720 points, followed by the 1,700 psychological level. Meanwhile, the immediate resistances are located at 1,745 points and 1,755 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
We expect the local bourse to continue mirroring the prevailing sentiment on Wall Street.
However, healthy bargain-hunting activities should resurface within the banking and REIT sectors.
We understand that the US-Malaysia interest rate differential outlook may support the ringgit-strengthening narrative while decent prospective dividend yields are expected to provide a buffer against near-term volatility.
In view of the stronger ringgit environment, consumer stocks, particularly within the poultry sector, are in a “sweet spot” to benefit, hence investors are advised to accumulate positions ahead of their results this month.
The local bourse closed lower on Thursday. Technical indicators suggest the momentum has turned negative at this juncture as the MACD histogram tilted into the negative territory while the RSI remains below the 70 level.
Resistance is seen around 1,746-1,751 with support at 1,711-1,716. – Feb 6, 2026
