BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
Malaysian equities made a strong comeback on Friday, casting aside Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by following the lead of US equities to head higher.
Once again, foreign funds led the buying on heavyweight laggards with banking stocks also continuing their ascend.
Elsewhere, technology stocks were among the top gainers on bargain hunting activities that also helped market breadth to turn positive again. However, volumes were lower as many market players stayed on the sidelines.
Despite Friday’s recovery, the market could still see whipsaw conditions over the near term amid the conflict escalation in Ukraine that is still unsettling market sentiments.
This could result in increased market volatility that may also see bouts of quick profit taking following Friday’s rebound.
However, the FBM KLCI should still hold up with sustained support on commodity stocks due to their higher prices that should also keep any profit taking modest for the time being.
At the same time, buying interest from foreign funds look to remain and this should allow the key index to trend closer to the 1,590 level although the 1,600 level may still prove to be a formidable level to clear for now.
The other support and resistance levels are at 1,585 and 1,610 points respectively
Malacca Securities Research
The FBM KLCI erased losses from a turbulent week along with the regional peers as investors shrugged off Russia-Ukraine geopolitical tensions last week.
Although Wall Street’s rebound extended on Friday, market condition is likely to remain fragile as the US stock futures trended lower at the time of writing on the back of returning concern on the Ukraine-Russia tension as President Putin puts his nuclear forces on high alerts.
Brent oil is trading above US$103/barrel while crude palm oil (CPO) is likely to rebound after last week’s retracement.
The FBM KLCI staged a rebound on Friday to close above the daily EMA9 level after hovering in the positive territory for the entire session. Technical indicators remained mixed as the MACD is hovering below the zero level while the RSI has rebounded above 50.
Support is now set at 1,570-1,580 level while resistance is pegged around 1,600-1,620. – Feb 28, 2022
