BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
The key index ended the week on a whimper again as selling still dominated trades on the FBM KLCI as well as bucking the region’s positive performances.
For the most part, however, the FBM KLCI trended within a tight range while the broader market and lower liners were still on the ascend as trading activities gathered pace.
Consequently, market breadth stayed positive as daily traded volumes also picked up to over 4.5 billion shares.
The directionless trading is likely to sustain over the near term as key index constituents remain on the low gear, unable to find any meaningful traction to press ahead.
As it is, there are still few noteworthy catalysts to provide the much-needed lift to the market, while valuations are also seen as fair, relative to regional peers.
With the dithering to continue, the 1,500 level remains a formidable level to clear and we see the key index remaining range-bound between the 1,490 and the above level for the time being. The other support and resistance are at 1,495 and 1,505 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
The FBM KLCI has ended marginally below 1,500, dragged by weakness on the banking sector as Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) maintained the overnight policy rate (OPR) at 2.75%.
However, with the positive sentiment from Wall Street, we believe buying interest may spill-over to the broader market, thus providing an upside towards the lower liners, especially the technology sector.
Global stock markets could see further recovery on the back of decent US gross domestic product (GDP) data coupled with the recovery theme from China which may boost the recovery further going forward.
Commodities-wise, Brent crude is trading along the US$86-US$87/barrel zone, while crude palm oil (CPO) price is hovering above RM3,900/metric tonne.
The FBM KLCI is consolidating sidesways below the 1,500 level. Meanwhile, the MACD Indicator remains positive and the RSI is hovering above 50, suggesting that the FBM KLCI is positive biased tone at this juncture.
The resistances are pegged around 1,525-1,540 while the support is located at 1,450-1,460. – Jan 30, 2023
