BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
Malaysia stocks made further headway last Friday with the FBM KLCI ending a shade below the psychological 1,500 level.
There was sustained bargain hunting among the recently beaten down sector leaders, buoyed by mild buying from foreign funds.
However, market volume was extremely thin at just 1.7 billion shares as most market players continue to stay away from equities. Nevertheless, market breadth was positive with most lower liners also making up further ground.
Despite the lingering tariff concerns and market sentiments remaining cautious, the on-going rebound is welcomed to allow the key index to shake off some of their recent weakness and to regain some of its lost ground.
The easing foreign selling has also enabled Malaysian equity bellwethers to mount a long overdue rebound from their steep sell-down.
In the same vein, the lack of foreign buying could also temper their upside potential with fewer follow through buying interest that could leave the key index to drift and may find its upside potential limited to no more than the 1,520 level over the near-to-medium term.
For now, the FBM KLCI will attempt to consolidate most of its recent rebound and stay close to the 1,500 level where it could be building up a base.
The supports will be at 1,487 points and 1,480 points while the resistances are at 1,504 points and at 1,510 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
We expect the recovery in banking stocks to continue following a decent performance of the Bursa Malaysia Finance index last Friday as these counters are more domestically driven.
However, we believe the current trade war may impact global growth as businesses adopt a wait-and-see approach, potentially delaying expansion plans and dampening economic activity.
This may contribute to a broader global slowdown, hence the upside of the banking stocks may be capped.
Nevertheless, we favour the tourism, plantation, and construction sectors which are expected to benefit from the 31 MOUs (memorandums of understanding) signed during President Xi’s visit to Malaysia.
The key index continued to hover below the MA (moving average) lines with technical indicators showing recovery signals; the MACD histogram expanded positively while the RSI has crossed above 50.
Resistance is anticipated around 1,514-1,519 while support is set at 1,479-1,484. – April 21, 2025
