BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
The FBM KLCI managed to eke out gains last Friday to end the week on a positive note as well as to extend its minute gains for a fourth straight day.
However, the key index was in the negative territory for most of the day and only turned positive towards the end of the session on light bargain hunting.
Meanwhile, the lower liners and broader market shares were mixed on mild profit taking that resulted in the market breadth turning negative. Market volume also remained moderate.
The near-term outlook is likely to remain unsettled as there are still few noteworthy leads to lift the market significantly higher.
Still, there appears to be some mild upside bias emerging from the selective buying support on key heavyweights as was the case in the past few sessions with the key index looking to prolong its base-building process.
Therefore, the buying interest could remain light as market players await for more market leads to emerge, particularly from the on-going corporate results reporting season that could provide a gauge into the potential earnings performance for the rest of the year.
The mild upsides could see the key index targeting the 1,430 level, before the 1,433-1,435 resistances come into play. The immediate support is at 1,425 points, followed by the 1,420 level.
Malacca Securities Research
The FBM KLCI ended marginally higher on the back of final-hour bargain hunting activities.
On the global front, investors may remain cautious despite the US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell’s comment on less-aggressive interest rate hike as worries surfaced following a pause on debt ceiling negotiations.
Meanwhile, all eyes will be on the US FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) minutes as well as Malaysia’s inflation rate this week.
Commodities-wise, Brent crude traded above the US$75/barrel mark while crude palm oil (CPO) price hovered just below RM3,500/metric tonne. Gold price stayed below US$2,000/ounce.
The FBM KLCI erased all its intraday losses and booked marginal gains, closing at an intraday high for the second session. Technical indicators, however, were mixed as the MACD Histogram extended a negative bar while the RSI hovered above 50.
Resistance is monitored along 1,440-1,450 while the support is pegged around 1,400-1,410. – May 22, 2203
