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 ended last week on a whimper, shedding some 2.4 points on mild profit taking ahead of the weekend.
Foreign institutions remained the net sellers with local institutions providing the support.
However, market activities were more active among the lower liners as they continued to gain ground, allowing for market breadth to stay positive with both the FBM Small Cap and FBM Ace indices making headway.
Traded volumes were little changed to stay just north of 3 billion shares.
We see near-term market conditions staying stable as the buying support from local institutions should allow the key index to comfortably stay above the 1,600 level at the start of the week as foreign funds are likely to remain sellers of the key index constituents.
As it is, there remains few fresh impetuses for market players to follow with the mostly drifting trend expected to persist.
Market players could also be keeping an eye on the upcoming US Federal Reserve meeting on interest rates where another cut is widely anticipated.
Still, it may not be enough to provide the lift for the market due to the prevailing low buying interest, particularly from foreign funds.
In the interim, the key index could find support at around the 1,607-1,610 points, followed by the critical 1,600 level. The hurdles, meanwhile, are at 1,615 and 1,620 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
The FBM KLCI retreated after a three-day winning streak as profit-taking activities were observed across certain banking and utilities counters.
Meanwhile, Wall Street closed higher after November jobs data came in slightly better than expected but not strong enough to deter the US Fed from considering further rates cut.
Traders will be monitoring several key events this week, including (i) US 3Q GDP; (ii) Japan 3Q GDP; and (iii) China’s November CPI and PPI.
In the commodities market, Brent crude slipped further towards the US$71/barrel level and will be closely watched after the toppling of the Syrian government.
Gold traded sideways around the US$2,650/oz level while CPO (crude palm oil) prices advanced further, closing above the RM5,100/metric tonne level.
The FBM KLCI retreated towards the 1,613 level after hitting the 60-day moving average line. Meanwhile, the MACD Histogram expanded positively and the RSI hooked above 50, indicating that the momentum is positive at this juncture.
Resistance is envisaged around 1,628-1,633 while the support is set at 1,593-1,598. – Dec 9, 2024
