BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Berjaya Research
The FBM KLCI marched higher for the fourth straight session on Wednesday, supported by gains in selected key index components that cushioned the mild pullback in banking heavyweights.
Likewise, the broader market also advanced as market breadth turned positive with 664 advancers outpacing 451 decliners. Trading activities, however, eased to 3.12 billion shares from 3.45 billion shares in the prior session.
Going forward, the near-term outlook for the FBM KLCI is cautiously optimistic with the index expected to stay supported above the 1,700 psychological level.
While the upward potential will be backed by rotational buying and improving market breadth, further gains may be choppy owing to the potential intermittent consolidation amid overbought conditions.
At the same time, investors will be monitoring the upcoming batch of US corporate earnings releases.
Technically, the key index recovered all its intraday losses to form another bullish candlestick and hold above the 1,700 psychological level.
With upsides to prevail, the next resistances are located at 1,712 points and 1,720 points. Meanwhile, the supports are pegged at 1,685 points and 1,665 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
Following the negative performance in the US, we anticipate some profit-taking on the local bourse after its recent extended rally.
Nevertheless, we believe the support should be located above the 1,700 level. In terms of sectors, we expect the utilities sector to remain a key focus in 2026 as the on-going data centre boom will require vast amounts of water for server cooling which could reignite buying interest in stocks such as Ranhill Utilities Bhd.
As data centre construction progresses, we believe the thematic focus may shift toward the M&E (mechanical & electrical) segment, thus benefiting stocks such as MN Holdings Bhd, Powerwell Holdings Bhd, Jati Tinggi Group Bhd and Southern Cable Group Bhd.
Wednesday’s session saw the local bourse extended its gains with technical indicators trading on a bullish tone as the MACD histogram expanded into the positive territory while the RSI broke above the 70 level.
Resistance is anticipated around 1,725-1,730 while support is seen at 1,690-1,695. – Jan 15, 2026
