BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
There were more upsides on Bursa Malaysia yesterday as the key index extending its uptrend for a seventh session to close marginally above the 1,610 level.
There continues to be optimism over the country’s GDP (gross domestic product) performance that helped sentiments recover further.
The positivity also extended to the lower liners as many of these stocks rebounded in line with the gains on the key index. Market breadth was positive but traded volumes were little changed and remained below 4 billion shares.
We continue to think that near-term market conditions remain largely upbeat, bolstered by optimism that the Malaysian economy will continue to perform credibly in the months ahead, anchored by the increasing domestic activities and the gradual recovery of the external sector.
The optimism is further fortified by the continuing prospects of a US interest rate cut next month that will also provide another catalyst for Malaysian equities to prolong the current uptrend.
A resurgent Wall Street would also point to more near-term market positivity for stocks on Bursa Malaysia.
With the market’s undertone holding firm, the key index could now target the next hurdle at 1,615 points before making a pass at the 1,620 level. On the other hand, the supports are at the 1,600-1,605 levels, followed by 1,595 points.
Malacca Securities Research
The FBM KLCI and FBM70 managed to recover into the gap-down zone last week while the FBM Small Cap remained in a sideways range as moderate attention was given to small caps after the market rout last Monday.
Meanwhile, on Wall Street, all three major indices rose after official data showed that consumer inflation declined to 2.9% in July (vs the consensus of 3%).
With the cooling of inflationary pressures, we believe buying support will pick up on the local front.
In the commodity markets, Brent crude retraced for the second session as Middle East tensions faded while gold price maintained above the US$2,440/oz zone. Elsewhere, CPO (crude palm oil) prices managed to hold above the RM3,700/metric tonne level.
The FBM KLCI index ended higher towards 1,612 level. The technical readings on the key index were positive with the MACD histogram forming another positive bar and the RSI stayed above 50.
The resistance is envisaged around 1,627-1,632 while the support is set at 1,592-1,597. – Aug 15, 2024
