BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Berjaya Research
The FBM KLCI rebounded, tracking the gains on Wall Street overnight as well as easing US. treasury yields.
Trading activity improved with market volume rising to 4.28 billion shares from 3.31 billion shares in the previous session.
Market breadth, however, remained negative with 610 decliners edging 577 advancers, signalling that the broader market has yet to fully participate in the recovery.
Going forward, the FBM KLCI could turn choppy amid the renewed volatility on Wall Street overnight after US treasury yields rose following plans of US Treasury to at least double its purchases of outstanding government bonds in an attempt to ease pressure in the long-dated debt market.
Along with the lingering geopolitical uncertainties, the local bourse to be under pressure on again though downside will be capped by the potential gains in selected oil & gas (O&G) heavyweights.
Also, the lack of fresh domestic leads to keep further upsides at bay for the time being.
Technically, the key index has gapped up and formed a bullish candlestick to experience a flag-formation breakout above the 1,732 points.
The immediate resistances remain envisaged at 1,742 points, followed by 1,750 points. Meanwhile, near-term supports are pegged at 1,711 points and 1,700 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
Tracking the overnight sell-off on Wall Street, we expect the FBM KLCI to pull back today.
However, selected technology stocks could remain in focus by riding on the cloud and AI (artificial intelligence) infrastructure surge in the country.
Investors could position themselves in end-to-end enterprise ICT infrastructure integration provider Pentech Holdings Bhd which anticipates higher margins moving forward as the company expands towards subscription-based cloud and AI-driven applications.
Lastly, with on-going DC (data centre) build-outs in the country and the upcoming Budget 2027 in October, we remain optimistic about the construction and utilities sectors with stocks such as Gamuda Bhd, Sunway Construction Group Bhd and YTL-related counters remaining on our radar.
The FBM KLCI rebounded with underlying indicators reflecting mixed signals at the current juncture as the MACD histogram is hovering below the zero level with the RSI is holding above 50.
Overhead resistance is located around 1,751-1,756 while support is anchored at 1,716-1,721. – Aug 21, 2026
