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 mild gains yesterday, gaining in tandem with the gains among regional indices ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision.
The rebound also allowed the key index to end the day a hair short of the psychological 1,600 level but market interest remains mostly insipid as total trades dwindled to just some 2.6 billion shares.
At the same time, foreign institutions continue to trim their stakes and market breadth stayed on the negative territory.
Although the US Fed trimmed its interest rate further as expected, the impact is unlikely to be pronounced on Bursa Malaysia stocks due to the prevailing selling spree by foreign funds that will continue to dent the hopes for a stronger recovery.
At the same time, domestic leads are far and in-between which could leave investor sentiments still on the slide.
Therefore, the buying support from local funds are likely to remain benign with the 1,600- level remaining under threat due to the prevailing downside bias.
On the downside, the supports remain at the 1,595 and 1,590 levels while the hurdles are at 1,605 and 1,610 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
The local bourse rebounded, supported by gains in the consumer products & services sector.
US markets traded lower despite the widely anticipated 25 basis points (bps) rate cut as the US Fed expressed concerns that higher tariffs imposed by the Trump administration may cause elevated inflationary pressure in the US, signalling a slower easing cycle going forward.
Meanwhile, traders will closely monitor several key data releases, including the (i) US gross domestic product (GDP); (ii) Unemployment Claims; (iii) Core PCE Price Index; and (iv) Bank of Japan (BOJ) monetary policy conference.
In the commodities market, Brent crude traded within the US$72-US$7/barrel range despite a fourth consecutive week of declining oil inventories.
Gold prices retreated below the US$2,600/oz mark while CPO (crude palm oil) prices continued their decline for another session by trading below the RM4,500/metric tonne level.
The FBM KLCI rebounded, closing just below key 1,600 psychological level. However, as the MACD histogram has formed a new negative bar and the RSI has trended below 50, this suggests that the momentum is negative at the current juncture.
Resistance is anticipated around 1,614-1,619 while support is set at 1,579-1,584. – Dec 19, 2024
