BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Berjaya Research
The FBM KLCI snapped its four-day winning streak with selling pressure broadly in line with weakness across most regional markets.
Traded volume dwindled to 3.1 billion shares while market breadth turned negative to reflect a broad-based sell-off.
We reckon the FBM KLCI may attempt to find stability, taking cue from the improved Wall Street performance overnight following the sharp slump of US Treasury yields which improves the risk appetite for riskier assets.
Economic wise, investors will be monitoring Malaysia’s advance estimate of 3Q 2026 GDP (gross domestic product) growth alongside US industrial production and manufacturing output data for further clues on domestic economic momentum and the health of the global manufacturing sector.
The broader market could be more susceptible for further profit taking as trades continue to offload their holdings under the current volatile environment.
Nevertheless, we reckon downside could be limited as stocks head towards their oversold position, potentially triggering short-term bargain hunting.
In the interim, we expect the benchmark to trade on a tight range with gains likely to be measured amid the absence of fresh leads.
The immediate resistances are located at 1,630-1,640 points. Meanwhile, the immediate support is pegged at the 1,600 psychological, followed by 1,580 points.
Malacca Securities Research
Tracking the overnight rebound on Wall Street, we expect the local bourse to trade positively.
Stock-wise, we favour AWC Bhd, supported by recurring data centre contract wins, including its recent RM39.7 mil subcontract from Gamuda Bhd.
The group has an unbilled order book of approximately RM900 mil, representing around 2.0x FY2026 revenue which underpinned our “buy” recommendation with a target price of 80 sen.
Similarly, we favour Greatech Technology Bhd, a leading Malaysian provider of automated test equipment (ATE) and factory automation solutions, backed by its RM1.83 bil order book.
Its expansion into data centre-related automation alongside demand from life sciences, e-mobility and semiconductor customers could support earnings visibility.
While the FBM KLCI retreated and stayed below the MA (moving average) lines, its technical indicators showed recovery signals with the MACD having expanded towards the positive territory while the RSI has broken above the 30 level.
Key resistance lies at 1,638-1,643 while near-term support is expected around 1,603-1,608. – Oct 16, 2026
