BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
The key index continues to consolidate at the start of the new year after a window dressing fuelled rally late last year.
However, the pullback was relatively mild as there were bouts of support that allowed the FBM KLCI to preserve most of the window dressing gains.
Nevertheless, the lower liners were more positive as most returned to the positive side to allow total gainers to beat losing stocks with traded volumes also surging some 40% at the end of last week.
For the most part, market conditions are staying indifferent as market players are still scouring for more leads which may result in the profit taking activities continuing on the FBM KLCI for the time being.
At the same time, the key index is still digesting its recent gains which could still leave it to drift with the downside bias to continue dominating the trading trend.
There remains tentativeness ahead of President Trump taking office in a fortnight’s time which may still see some measure of cautiousness that may keep market sentiments in check for longer.
With the consolidation likely to prevail for now, the immediate support is pegged at the 1,625-1,627 levels, followed by the 1,620 level. The resistances, meanwhile, are at 1,636 and 1,642 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
The local front extended its pullback for a second session at the start of the year as profit-taking activities were observed across several blue-chip counters after the year-end window dressing activities.
In the US, the S&P500 and NASDAQ snapped their five-day losing streak with tech stock rally as bargain hunting activities happened across some of the 2024’s dominant themes, including artificial intelligence (AI).
This week, traders will also keep an eye on several key economic data, including (i) Eurozone CPI (Consumer Price Index); (ii) China’s CPI; and also (iii) ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index).
In the commodities market, Brent crude gained momentum to hover above US$76/barrel level supported by cold weather in the Europe and US which could point to stronger demand.
Elsewhere, gold traded slightly higher above US$2,600/oz while CPO (crude palm oil) prices retreated below the RM4,400/ metric tonne mark.
The FBM KLCI formed a higher-low and higher-high formation and closed above all the MA lines. The MACD Histogram is trading at the positive territory while the RSI reading is above 50, indicating positive momentum at the current juncture.
Resistance is anticipated around 1,644-1,649 while support is set at 1,609-1,614. – Jan 6, 2025
