BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
Selling continues to dominate trading last Friday, resulting in the key index shedding another 1.2% to close at its lowest level in two months.
The losses were also in tandem with the steep falls on Wall Street a day earlier with selling being rampant on plantation and technology stocks as they topped the losers list even as oil & gas (O&G) stocks bucked the selling pressure.
Broader market stocks also retreated further on higher volumes with losers totalling two times more than gainers.
The near-term market outlook remains insipid in tune with the weakness of global equities that are increasingly hampered by the sustained concerns over rising inflation that is likely to keep sentiments guarded for longer.
There are also concerns that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) will be compelled to lift interest rates sooner-than-expected following the trend of many global economies as they move to ease inflationary pressure.
At the same time, market players could also stay on the sidelines as they await more corporate results to be released over the coming weeks to gauge the prospect of economic recovery.
As such, market conditions are likely to stay volatile with the downside bias also staying pat for the time being. On the downside, the resistances are at 1,560 and 1,550 points respectively.
The resistances, meanwhile, are at 1,575-1,580 levels followed by the 1,585 level.
Malacca Securities Research
The FBM KLCI plummeted on Friday in tandem with regional peers on the back of bearish global sentiment following a sharp decline on Wall Street and the net outflow of foreign funds.
As the US stocks suffered another sell-off, we expect the local bourse to follow suit, especially within the technology sector.
Nevertheless, there might be bargain hunting activities ahead of the earnings season especially in the recovery-themed sectors as well as REITs (real estate investment trust).
On the commodity markets, crude oil price remained above US$112/barrel while crude palm oil (CPO) was traded lower at RM6,400/metric tonne.
The FBM KLCI has broken below the daily EMA120 with technical indicators remaining negative as the MACD Histogram has extended a negative bar while the RSI hovered below the 50 level.
The next support is located around 1,550 while the resistance is pegged at 1,570-1,580. – May 9, 2022
