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 managed to mount a rebound last Friday to stay above the critical 1,600 level at the close of last week, boosted by mild bargain hunting from local institutions to offset the sustained selling by foreign funds.
The mild gains also enabled the key index to buck the mostly lower regional market indices but the broader market was still mixed-to-lower as total losers were still ahead of gaining stocks as market interest continues to thin further amid to the lack of fresh impetuses.
We see conditions staying cautious at the start of the week as the market awaits the outcome of the tight US presidential election race.
As such, there will also be few leads due to the wait-and-see stance, not only among regional indices but also Malaysian equities as well.
Moreover, there are also few domestic leads and the market could still be left to drift for the time being.
However, the key index could remain above the psychological 1,600 level for now on continuing mild buying which has since become a critical support level following the FBM KLCI’s recent downbeat mode around the technical 200 day moving average.
A breach of this level could reverse the FBM KLCI’s trend into a bearish one with the ensuing supports pegged at 1,595 and 1,590 points respectively. On the other hand, the resistances are at 1,612 points and 1,622 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
Last week, sentiment on the local bourse improved with both the FBM KLCI and FBM SCAP edging higher.
While the US Non-Farm Payrolls data came in weaker than anticipated, potentially influencing the US Federal Reserve’s decision in the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, sentiment turned positive in the US as investors digested earnings reports from Apple and Amazon.
However, we anticipate a volatile market environment this week ahead of the US presidential election and the FOMC meeting.
In the commodities market, Brent crude surged amid on-going geopolitical tensions in the Middle East while gold prices retreated on profit-taking by ending near the US$2,740/oz level. Meanwhile, CPO (crude palm oil) prices continued to rally, reaching a two-year high above the RM4,700/metric tonne level.
The FBM KLCI index ended at the 1,603 level and closed below all the moving average lines. The technical readings on the key index were negative with the MACD histogram remained negative and the RSI is approaching oversold level.
The resistance is envisaged around 1,618-1,623 while the support is set at 1,583-1,588. – Nov 4, 2024
