BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
The FBM KLCI stumbled in tandem with regional indices at the end of last week as selling pressure picked up on renewed concerns over the US and global economic outlook.
The selling pressure resulted in the key index slipping below the 1,660 points to end the week near the 1,650 level.
Conditions in the broader market were also subdued as market participation continued to dip to just 2.4 billion shares for the day with losers beating gainers on a 2-to-1 ratio.
With market conditions staying insipid, the downside pressure is likely to persist into the start of the new week as market players continue to shy away due to the few positive leads.
While the listing of 99 Speedmart could garner some trading interest, the rest of the market could still be in a lull due to the more cautious market undertone that continues to be affected by the spate of weak overseas economic data.
This also means that the psychological 1,650 is under threat even as it appears to be a strong support level for now.
If this support gives way, however, the supports are lowered to the 1,640-1,643 levels, followed by the 1,636 level. The resistances, meanwhile, are at the 1,657-1,660 levels and at the 1,662 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
The local market sentiment remained negative with widespread selling pressure across the board.
In the US, stocks also ended on a downbeat note after a weaker-than-expected labour market report; non-farm payrolls increased by just 142,000, falling short of the 161,000 consensus estimate, leading to declines of 1%-2.55% across the three major indices on Wall Street.
However, the unemployment rate edged down to 4.2% in line with economists’ expectations.
In the commodity markets, Brent crude prices fell below US$72/barrel, driven by concerns over the soft labour market and weaker demand from China. Meanwhile, gold prices held steady around US$2,500/oz and crude palm oil (CPO) prices traded near RM3,900/metric tonne.
The FBM KLCI index ended lower towards the 1,653 level. However, the technical readings on the key index were mixed with the MACD histogram forming a new negative bar but the RSI trended above 50.
The resistance is envisaged around 1,668-1,673 while the support is set at 1,633-1,638. – Sept 9, 2024
