BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
Malaysian stocks were on a steeper decline yesterday in tandem with a sell-down of regional equities following a similar rout on Wall Street last Friday.
As a result, sentiments remained frail with foreign funds’ selling escalating to leave the key index at its lowest level since November last year.
Most broader market shares also tumbled with market breadth decidedly on the negative side. Meanwhile, traded volumes rose some 13% but remained below 3 billion shares for the day.
There seems to be no let-up in the selling spree on Bursa Malaysia despite the oversold conditions with few signs of a rebound as yet, thus leaving the insipid trend a feature for the time being.
The incessant selling, particularly by foreign funds, is also leaving sentiments on the brink with the selling pressure continuing to pile up.
Consequently, we think that the market’s weakness is set to prolong with the downsides to persist for now due to the lack of positive catalysts.
Any rebound due mainly to the oversold conditions could also be relatively mild due to the lack of broad-based buying support.
With successive supports giving way, the new supports are now at the 1,574-1,576 levels and at 1,563 points respectively. The resistances, meanwhile, are at 1,590 and 1,595 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
The local bourse began the week on a negative note, tracking the weaker overnight performance in the US, coupled with the announcement over the weekend of chip export curb affecting Malaysia.
While dip-buying was observed in the Dow Jones, Wall Street closed on a mixed note as traders await the US inflation data which is set to be released this Wednesday for more insight into the pace of rate cuts in 2025.
In the commodities market, Brent crude traded above US$80/barrel while gold prices retreated below US$2,700/oz and crude palm oil (CPO) prices gapped up by trading nearer to RM4,500/metric tonne.
The FBM KLCI extended its losses after breaking below the moving average lines. The MACD histogram continued to expand negatively while the RSI approached the oversold level, indicating negative momentum at the current juncture.
Resistance is anticipated around 1,600-1,605 while support is set at 1,565-1,570. – Jan 14, 2025
