BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
Although the key index managed to recoup some of its intraday losses, it still ended the week on a losing note.
However, it managed to hold on to the 1,610 with mild buying support helping to shore up the key index.
The continuing market weakness was largely due to the prevailing insipid equity market conditions that also afflicted most lower liners as well.
Consequently, market breadth remained negative with traded volumes also waning further to less than 4 billion shares on Friday.
There appears to be little change to the near-term market outlook as it could remain unsettled ahead of the release of more global corporate earnings in the upcoming week which should determine the market’s direction.
At the same time, market players will also be keeping a keen eye on the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision albeit a rate cut is still not on the cards yet.
As market players await for fresh leads, the key index could stay largely range-bound with some mild upside potential while looking to fortify its position above the 1,600 levels where it could continue to build up a base.
While the selling pressure appears relatively benign for now, fresh buying interest also appears tentative likewise to leave the upside potential benign for now.
In the interim, the supports are at 1,605 and 1,610 points while the hurdles are pegged at 1,615 and 1,620 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
Last week, most of the indices took a beating as profit-taking activities emerged, snapping a three-week rally on the FBM KLCI, FBM70, and FBM Small Cap.
On a weekly basis, the Dow rallied in the US but both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 were dragged down by technology heavyweights in anticipation of softer AI (artificial intelligence)-driven earnings.
This week, traders will be monitoring the China Manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index), US home sales, US jobs data and the US ISM Manufacturing PMI.
In the commodity markets, Brent crude declined below US$81/barrel as concerns over China’s economic growth negatively impacted market sentiment while gold price maintained its uptrend toward US$2,400/oz. Elsewhere, CPO (crude palm oil) is ranging between RM3,900-RM4,000/metric tonne.
The FBM KLCI index ended lower around 1,612 level. The technical readings on the key index were negative with the formation of negative MACD histogram for the past three days consecutively and the RSI having dropped below 50.
The resistance is envisaged around 1,627-1,632 while the support is set at 1,592-1,597. – July 29, 2024
