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 lost ground at the end of last week as the trade war concerns continued to dampen market sentiments albeit the key index managed to recoup most of its intraday losses with mild bargain hunting on some of recently beaten down index constituents.
Nevertheless, the broader market stocks performed better with most Bursa sector indices still headed higher on sustained bargain hunting.
This allowed total gainers to pip losers for the day although traded volumes slipped by some 36% for the day.
We continue to think that near-term market conditions are calmer despite the lingering concerns over the tariff war that will continue to keep the market cautious for the time being.
However, the latest US tariff exemptions to mobile phones and computer peripherals will help to calm the market further, hence enabling Malaysian equities to mount a quick rebound to start the week.
At the same time, last Friday’s gains on Wall Street could also provide some renewed buying interest on some of the beaten down sector leaders and key index constituents that endured volatile conditions recently.
With a rebound poised, the key index could target the next targets at 1,462 points and 1,475 points respectively. The supports, meanwhile, are at the psychological 1,450 points and around the 1,440-1,443 levels.
Malacca Securities Research
We expect traders to closely monitor President’s Xi visit to Malaysia from April 15-17 with hopes for increased investment flows into Malaysia.
Meanwhile, we believe Malaysian glovemakers could benefit from the widening tariff differential against their Chinese counterparts.
Coupled with easing raw material costs, this could support stronger demand and margin expansion.
On the tech front, the reversal of export restrictions on NVIDIA’s H20 AI chips to China may provide a short-term reprieve for the data centre supply chain but the reports of a potential “special-focus” tariff on semiconductors by China could keep the market sentiment volatile in the near term.
The key index closed lower and continued to trend below the MA (moving average) lines with technical indicators showing mixed signals at the current juncture; the MACD histogram expanded negatively while the RSI rebounded from the oversold region.
Resistance is anticipated around 1,469-1,474 while support is set at 1,434-1,439. – April 14, 2025
