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 retreated at the start of the week, giving up some of last Friday’s gains amid quick profit taking activities and the lack of follow-up buying to extend its recovery.
Consequently, the key index was left to drift in line with the weakness in regional indices amid the lack of fresh impetuses.
Many lower liners also followed suit and drifted lower, resulting in market breadth perched on the negative side for the day. Traded volumes, however, shot up to surpass the 3 billion shares mark.
We see market conditions staying relatively benign in the day ahead as market players await the outcome of the US Federal Reserve’s meeting on interest rates that may provide some fresh buying impetus on Bursa Malaysia stocks.
As it is, the selling pressure remains from foreign funds and their disposal is sending more stocks to the downside, unable to gain sufficient traction to mount a more meaningful recovery.
As a result, the key index is seemingly stuck at around the 1,600 levels and unable to sustain the mild upsides.
With little change to the near-term outlook, we see the key index remaining unsettled and may continue to drift over the near term, lingering between the 1,600 and 1,610 levels over the near term.
Beyond the above levels, the other support and resistance levels are at the 1,595 and 1,615 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
The FBM KLCI began the week on a softer note as losses in banking heavyweights weighed on sentiment in the local bourse.
However, Wall Street traded mixed as investors looked ahead to the much-anticipated US Fed interest rate cut later this week along with several key data releases, including (i) Retail & Core Retail Sales; (ii) US gross domestic product (GDP); (iii) Unemployment Claims; (iv) Core PCE Price Index; and (v) the Bank of Japan (BOJ) monetary policy conference.
In the commodities market, Brent crude traded flat at around US$73-US$74/barrel as China’s stimulus packages fell short of investors’ expectations in addition to them taking a pause ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.
Gold prices also traded flat around the US$2,650/oz level while CPO (crude palm oil) prices continued to pullback for another session by having traded below the support of RM4,800/metric tonne.
The FBM KLCI continues to retreat after hitting the 60-day moving average line. The MACD Histogram has performed a rounding top formation and the RSI trended below 50, suggesting that the momentum is negative at this juncture.
Resistance is envisaged around 1,621-1,626 while support is set at 1,586-1,591. – Dec 17, 2024
