BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
Malaysian equities eked-out a positive close on Friday after a choppy day where profit taking was punctuated by bargain hunting.
Technology and plantation stocks were the main movers as they continue to mount their recovery from the recent sharp pullback.
Although most Bursa Malaysia indices ended the week with on a positive note, selling was more prevalent with total losers overwhelming gaining stocks on a ratio of more than 2-to-1.
Despite the slight wobbliness last Friday, market conditions are still looking positive that could further allow the key index to regain ground, riding on the on-going positivity among global equities that are casting aside the heighted recession concerns.
On the local bourse, sustained buying from foreign funds was seen as the main push for the key index to head higher over the past few weeks.
Their buying looks to continue amid the positioning of their portfolios for 2H 2021 and this is likely to keep shoring up the FBM KLCI for the time being albeit it may become milder as follow through buying interest is still relatively low.
There near-term hurdles remain at the 1,493-1,495 levels followed by the psychological 1,500 points level. The supports, on the other hand, are at 1,490 and 1,480 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
The FBM KLCI eked out marginal gains on Friday, extending its gains for a third straight session supported by persistent buying from foreign funds.
We believe the market undertone will improve as investors may expect a slower pace of interest rate hikes in the US moving forward.
Nevertheless, inflation is likely to remain high as crude oil price is still elevated above the US$103/barrel mark on the back of tight supply situation. Attention may turn to OPEC+ meeting on Aug 3 while crude palm oil (CPO) price surged more than 8.0% to trade above RM4,200/metric tonne.
The FBM KLCI concluded the week with the extension of a rebound as the key index remained above its EMA60 level. Technical indicators remained positive as the MACD Histogram extended a positive bar while the RSI hovered above 50.
The key index may look forward to its resistance at 1,500-1,530 while the support is pegged along 1,460 followed by 1,410. – Aug 1, 2022
