BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Berjaya Research
The FBM KLCI rebounded on Wednesday, largely lifted by the eleventh-hour buying support among selective index heavyweights after trading in the negative territory for most of the trading session.
Broader market indices also edged higher in tandem despite the slight negative market breadth.
Consequently, overall trading activity improved with volume rising to 2.73 billion shares from 2.66 billion shares in the previous session.
Going forward, the FBM KLCI is expected to trade in a range-bound manner over the near term as investors adopt a cautious stance amid the lack of strong domestic catalysts coupled with the unrelenting exodus of foreign funds.
While bargain hunting may provide intermittent support at lower levels, overall sentiment is likely to stay subdued with trading activity remaining selective.
Attention will continue to be on global macro developments and fund flow trends which are expected to dictate short-term market direction.
Technically, the key index has formed a hammer candlestick to remain within the short-term consolidation band.
A breakthrough above the immediate resistance at 1,685 points may lift the key index towards the next resistance located at 1,694 points. On the other side, the supports remain located at 1,665 points and 1,658 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
Closer to home, we expect the FBM KLCI to mirror Wall Street’s overnight performance (down 466.00 points or 0.9% to 48,996.08).
Nevertheless, we believe the FBM KLCI’s fundamentals remain intact, underpinned by favourable interest rates that should benefit the banking sector.
Meanwhile, structural government initiatives such as the MySARA aid appears to benefit 99 Speed Mart Retail Holdings Bhd and the broader consumer sector, further supported by a lower input cost environment amid a strengthening ringgit and the Visit Malaysia 2026 (VMY 2026) theme.
With the FBM SCAP is gaining traction, we favour CBH Engineering Holding Bhd, Pekat Group Bhd and MN Holdings Bhd given their inclusion in our Factor Focus Small Cap Strategy, their resilient earnings outlooks and their exposure to domestic data centre projects.
The FBM KLCI index closed higher. However, technical indicators pointed towards downside risk with the MACD histogram turning negative while the RSI has weakened below 70, suggesting that upward momentum is softening.
Immediate resistance is anticipated around 1,702-1,707 with support seen at 1,656-1,661. – Jan 8, 2026
