BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
Malaysian equities mounted a rebound yesterday, riding the coat-tails of the improved global equity market sentiment to close-in on the 1,490 level at the close.
The rebound was also widespread, extending to most stocks on Bursa Malaysia with gainers doubled that of losers as traded volumes also picked up pace to surge past the 5 billion shares mark – the highest level since April last year.
The lower liners and broader market shares also posted strong comebacks from the previous day’s pullback.
The near-term outlook appears firm, backed by the continuing gains in global indices that is casting aside the prospects of higher interest rates as corporate earnings and economic data seems to point to sustained growth ahead.
Such positivity should extend to Malaysian equities and with the pick-up in market interest, there should be further upside bias over the near term that would also allow the key index to end the week on a positive note.
This should see the 1,490-level cleared with the key index eyeing the 1,495 points hurdle next.
However, we still think that the 1,500 level remains a formidable level to clear for the time being as it has become a major resistance level. On the downside, the supports are pegged at 1,485 and 1,480 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
The FBM KLCI rebounded as the market sentiment was buoyed by the upbeat performances on Wall Street overnight following the less hawkish tone on the interest rate direction from the US Federal Reserve as the CPI (consumer price index) numbers in recent months have been declining.
Given Wall Street is in a relief rally environment, we believe global sentiment may turn positive with buying interest spilling over to stocks on the local front.
In the meantime, we believe investors will be positioning themselves for the upcoming reporting season as well as the re-tabling of Budget 2023 on Feb 24.
Commodities-wise, Brent crude traded above US$82/barrel while crude palm oil (CPO) price hovered below RM3,800/metric tonne. Gold price remained above US$1,900/oz.
The FBM KLCI ended higher after hovering in the positive territory for the entire session. Technical indicators remained mixed as the MACD Histogram extended a positive bar while the RSI is hovering above 50.
The resistance is set around 1,525-1,540 while support is located along 1,450-1,460. – Feb 3, 2023
