BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
Malaysian stocks continue to make headway, ending last week comfortably above the 1,490 level in line with the gains in global equities that were buoyed by the prospects of slower interest rate hikes ahead and China’s border re-opening.
The fresh buying interest was widespread with gainers comfortably topping losers for the day as the lower liners and broader market shares also climbed on increased trading actions.
This helped trading volumes to remain above the 3 billion shares mark.
With sentiments on equities staying firm amid the easing concerns over some headwinds that buffeted the market last year, the recent upsides could be preserved, thus raising hopes for the emergence of pre-Lunar New Year rally.
At the same time, the bouts of portfolio realignment exercises may also continue as investors fine-tune their equity holdings at the start of the year.
With the key index already past the 1,490 level, it may now make an attempt at the psychological 1,500 level as the buying interest looks to gain further traction.
If the level is cleared, the key index could target the recent high at the 1,503-1,505 levels. The supports, on the other hand, are pegged at the 1,490 level and the 1,485 level respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
The FBM KLCI notched gains for the third consecutive session as investors took cue from the bullish sentiment on Wall Street following a cooler inflation data.
As the market rebounded on Wall Street after better-than-expected results were seen in banking counters, the positive trading sentiment may spill-over to our local front.
Meanwhile, traders may focus on China’s re-opening theme while awaiting Malaysia’s inflation rate and the Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) interest rate decision this week.
Commodities-wise, Brent crude price climbed above US$85/barrel while crude palm oil (CPO) price consolidated below RM3,850/metric tonne. Gold price rose above US$1,900/oz.
The FBM KLCI extended its gains to the third straight session to close above the SMA200. Technical indicators remained positive as the MACD Histogram extended a positive bar while the RSI is hovering above 50.
Resistance is monitored at 1,500-1,510 while the support is located at 1,460, followed by 1,450. – Jan 16, 2023
