BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
Malaysian equities were broadly lower yesterday with many stocks on the retreat again in tandem with the weakness among regional and key global equity indices the night before.
The key index ended the day with superficial losses after lingering in the positive territory for most of the day.
The lower liners, however, were in the negative territory throughout the session as profit taking continues to unfold, leaving market breadth in losers’ favour. Traded volumes also slipped by nearly a quarter from the previous day.
With the key index tethering near its six-month highs, it could still be looking to clear the level, riding on the improved market sentiments and the return of market interest after a wretched 1H 2023.
However, the level still appears to be a formidable to clear amid the lack of follow through buying interest.
As a result, we think the FBM KLCI could instead maintain its range-bound trend within the 1,450 and 1,463 levels for the time being.
At the same time, there are also few noteworthy leads to provide the impetus for the key index to break out of its sideway trend convincingly and this could also prolong the ongoing market trend.
Therefore, the immediate resistance remains at the 1,463 level, followed by the 1,472 level. The supports, meanwhile, are at 1,455 and 1,450 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
Overall sentiment on the Bursa exchange was slightly weaker and the FBM KLCI ended flat for the session as profit taking activities emerged in line with the regional benchmark.
Meanwhile, we expect the negative performance from Wall Street to spill over to stocks on the local front.
Given the two Johor by-elections this weekend, traders may take a cautious stance by continuing with profit taking activities within the construction sector at least for the near term while shifting their focus to stocks with defensive value.
Commodities-wise, Brent crude traded slightly below the US$90/barrel level while crude palm oil (CPO) prices continued to consolidate below the RM3,800/metric tonne level.
The FBM KLCI traded flat after a significant rebound move two days ago. The technical readings on the key index are mixed with the MACD Histogram forming a rounding top formation but the RSI is still hovering above 50.
The resistance is located around 1,465-1,470 while the support is set around 1,430-1,440. – Sept 8, 2023
