BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
Market conditions turned cautious yesterday and profit taking emerged after three days of gains.
The cautiousness was also due in part to the renewed weakness among key global stock indices on lingering tariff headwinds.
Construction stocks emerged as the main losers for the day but the broader market was relatively mixed as the FBM ACE and FBM Small Cap indices maintained their uptrend albeit at a milder rate.
Market breadth, meanwhile, was relatively equal between gainers and losers.
After staging a rebound back above the 1,500 level, the market is becoming directionless as it is looking for fresh catalysts for its next moves.
On the whole, however, market conditions are still cautious due to prevailing uncertainties over unfolding global trade disruptions and may still leave many market players on a defensive stance for now.
The US Federal Reserve’s decision to hold interest rate steady – while expected – is unlikely to have much bearing on the global economy for now.
Nevertheless, overnight gains among key global indices should allow the key index to find ample support with mild upside bias over the near-term.
On the upside, the resistances are pegged at 1,520 points and at the 1,526-1,530 levels. The supports remain at 1,510-1,512 points and at the 1,505 level respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
The local bourse closed lower following profit-taking activities across banking heavyweights.
In the US, all three indices rebounded after the US Federal Reserve held the interest rates unchanged and maintained its forecast for two rate cuts this year.
The decision to hold rates came despite an anticipated rise in inflation this year as weaker economic growth is expected to offset elevated inflationary pressures.
Meanwhile, investors will closely watch the People’s Bank of China’s (PBOC) loan prime rate announcement.
In the commodities market, Brent crude remained above US$70/barrel while gold surged to all-time-high around US$3,050/oz. Meanwhile, CPO (crude palm oil) traded flat below RM4,400/metric tonne.
The key index continued to trade below the EMA bands with mixed technical indicators whereby the MACD histogram is still below zero but the RSI rebounded off its oversold territory.
Resistance is anticipated around 1,532-1,537 while support is set at 1,497-1,502. – March 20, 2025
