BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
The key index was again range-bound as market conditions stayed lacklustre with few leads to encourage fresh buying.
As a result, the FBM KLCI retreated slightly with healthcare and energy stocks seeing increased profit taking – the latter due to the pullback in oil prices.
Conditions elsewhere were mixed-to-lower causing losers to be still well ahead of gainers while the continuing lack of market following saw traded volumes slipping below 3 billion shares yesterday.
We continue to think that market conditions are still lacklustre, and this is likely to see the FBM KLCI continuing with its sideway trend.
With the market still devoid of catalysts, the directionless trading will also stay prevalent for the foreseeable future with the downside bias looks to sustain due to the lack of fresh buying.
Recently reported corporate earnings have yielded few impetuses and given that next year’s earnings outlook could be dampened by the imposition of the one-off windfall tax, the Malaysian equity market environment may remain indifferent for longer.
In the interim, the key index could still linger within a tight range of between the 1,520 and 1,530 points to end the week. The other support is at 1,515 points while further ahead the resistance is at the 1,540 level.
Malacca Securities Research
The FBM KLCI turned lower as glove counters gave up earlier gains following Supermax’s announcement on its financial result amid softer glove average selling price (ASP).
While bargain hunting may emerge on selected sectors, the increasing volatility across regional bourses, coupled with concerns over upcoming corporate earnings may continue to dent investors’ sentiment.
Also, Melaka state election may dampen the trading activities across the local bourse.
On the commodity markets, meanwhile, crude palm oil (CPO) price rebounded near the RM5,000 mark, while crude oil price hovered above the US$81/barrel mark.
The FBM KLCI continued to trade in consolidation mode as the key index retreated after two-session gains.
Technical indicators remained negative as the MACD Histogram has extended a negative bar while the RSI hovered below the 50 level.
The support level is envisaged along 1,500-1,520 while the resistance is pegged at 1,540-1,550. – Nov 19, 2021
