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 claw back most of its intraday losses to close just a tad lower for the day, boosted by late bargain hunting from foreign institutions that allowed it to remain above the 1,560 level.
The big movers a day earlier – banking stocks – retreated on profit taking but many lower liners and broader market shares rebounded to help market breadth turn positive again. However, traded volumes slipped further to below the 4 billion level.
The key index is looking to stay above the 1,550 level as it also aims to fortify its position above the psychological 1,500 level.
As it is, there is still support on many of the key index constituents with foreign funds still re-positioning their portfolios to be in tune with the country’s more sanguine economic undertone as it moves away from the pandemic conditions.
This should help to keep most stocks afloat for longer with the mild upside bias also likely to stay as the bargain hunting continues.
Under the prevailing environment, the key index will remain firm and could take another stab at its recent high of 1,567 points.
Thereafter, the main hurdle is at 1,580 points. The supports, on the other hand, are at 1,560 and 1,550 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
Bucking the regional uptrend move, the FBM KLCI harboured a mild loss as banking-propelled rallies ran out of steam on the back of mild profit taking activities.
Meanwhile, Wall Street rebounded higher as the US inflation rate came in within expectation at 7.0% year-on-year.
Hence, with the recent continuous buying from foreign funds into our local exchange, we expect sentiment to remain sturdy with the FBM KLCI revisiting the 1,600 level in the near term.
On the commodities market, crude oil price hovered above the US$84/barrel mark as investors anticipated strengthening demand amid the global economic recovery mode while crude palm oil (CPO) price is hovering above RM5,000/metric tonne.
The FBM KLCI stalled its three-session rallies but hovered firmly above the daily EMA9 and moving average 200 level.
Technical indicators remained positive as the MACD Histogram has extended a positive bar while the RSI hovered above the 50 level.
The next resistance is located at 1,580 while the support is pegged along 1,530. – Jan 13, 2022
