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 mounted a strong firm rebound yesterday to haul itself further away from the psychological 1,600 level amid the return of mild bargain hunting from foreign funds.
Much of the key index’s bounce was also in tandem with the upsides in regional indices and renewed interest in plantation stocks on higher palm oil prices.
The lower liners were also mostly higher as market breadth turned positive. However, traded volumes were still tepid.
Yesterday’s firmer recovery was welcomed to break the key index’s downtrend that had cast doubts over the longevity of its uptrend as it looked to have found support at the critical 200-day moving average line.
With the line seen holding, the FBM KLCI could now be attempting to regain its upward momentum but with market interest still largely insipid, the upsides could remain modest.
At the same time, there could also be some wariness ahead of the US presidential election as well as the upcoming US Federal Reserve meeting to decide the course of interest rates.
Back home, there are still few leads and collectively, the key index may become more cautious for the time being. On the upside there are hurdles at the 1,620 and 1,625 levels while the supports are at 1,607 and 1,601 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
After last week’s sell-off due to a series of foreign outflows, the FBM KLCI rebounded to close in positive territory.
In light of slower job growth indicated by the Non-Farm Payroll (NFP) data, investors shifted their portfolios toward safe-haven assets like US Treasuries while Wall Street ended lower ahead of the US presidential election and the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.
Looking ahead, traders will closely monitor AI (artificial intelligence)-related stocks to assess their earnings growth; Palantir Technologies traded higher post-market following its quarterly results that exceeded expectations.
In the commodity markets, Brent crude extended its gains as OPEC+ postponed its December output hike while the on-going tensions in the Middle East contributed to firmer trading in oil.
Meanwhile, gold prices remained flat at US$2,736/oz while CPO (crude palm oil) prices continued their rally by surging above RM4,800/metric tonne.
The FBM KLCI index closed higher towards the 1,616 level. However, the technical readings on the key index were negative with the MACD histogram remained negative while the RSI is approaching an oversold level.
The resistance is envisaged around 1,631-1,636 while the support is set at 1,596-1,601. – Nov 5, 2024
