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 sustained its recovery for a second day and starting the new week on a firmer note, boosted by sustained bargain hunting by local institutions on some of the beaten down sector leaders.
Even so, overall market conditions were relatively benign as market interest was thinner with less than billion shares changing hands.
Nevertheless, market breadth remained comfortably in the positive zone with most lower liners also pushing higher and extending their recovery.
We see near-term market conditions staying mildly encouraging after the US President Donald Trump and China played down concerns over a trade spat.
This is seen as positive for Malaysia’s external sector performance and could help the key index to recover further over the near term.
However, the recovery could still be capped by the persistent sell-down by foreign funds that may also encourage some quick profit taking activities.
At the same time, there are also still few domestic leads to entice more market players to take-up more positions.
As such, the mild upsides are likely to prevail for now with the FBM KLCI to target the next hurdles at the 1,576-1,580 levels, followed by the 1,585 level. On the downside, the supports are at the 1,566 and the 1,555 levels respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
The local bourse continued to close higher, buoyed by gains in the banking and utilities heavyweights.
In the US, market was closed due to Martin Luther King Jr. public holiday with investors focusing on President Trump’s inauguration speech and his series of executive actions.
Meanwhile, other key economic highlights this week include (i) Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) interest rate decision; (ii) initial jobless claims in the US; and (iii) crude oil inventories.
In the commodities market, Brent crude broke below the US$81/barrel mark while gold price continued to hover around the US$2,700/oz level.
Elsewhere, Trump’s supportive stance towards cryptocurrency had also led bitcoin to an all-time-high at US$109,000. Meanwhile, CPO prices traded flat around the RM4,200/metric tonne level.
Although FBM KLCI continued to rebound yesterday, it is still trading below all the moving average lines. The technical indicators are also showing mixed signals with RSI rebounded off the oversold zone while MACD Histogram trading at its negative territory.
Resistance is anticipated around 1,587-1,592 while support is set at 1,552-1,557. – Jan 21, 2025
