BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
The start of the week saw further selling with the key index sliding below the 1,560 level at the close, hampered once again by losses in YTL-related stocks following its proposed issuance of non-tradable warrants.
At the same time, other construction heavyweights also took a dive with conditions in the broader market similarly affected by weak sentiments given most stocks also ended the day with losses.
Expectedly, market breadth remained decidedly negative as traded volumes also slipped.
With global tech stocks taking a steep dive overnight, we also see sentiments among technology names on Bursa Malaysia taking a hit, leaving the broad market conditions on its weak spell for longer as well.
At the same time, market participation will continue to thin ahead of the Chinese New Year break tomorrow, further leaving the key index to drift with foreign selling to again dominate trades on the FBM KLCI.
With its rebound becoming undone, the key index could see further downsides and the 1,550-1,554 levels to serve as the immediate supports. Below these levels, the key index could head to the 1,545 level, which is also its intraday low.
On the flipside, there are resistances at the 1,563-1,565 levels with the ensuing resistance set at the 1,573 level.
Malacca Securities Research
The FBM KLCI began the week in negative territory due to the on-going sell-offs in YTL-related counters following the group’s plan to issue an inflexible 1-for-5 bonus warrant.
Meanwhile, Wall Street closed lower after a low-cost AI model from the Chinese start-up DeepSeek climbed to the top of Apple’s App Store, sparking concerns over the premium valuations of technology stocks.
Traders will closely watch (i) US economic growth; (ii) unemployment claims; and (iii) the core PCE (Personal Consumption Expenditures Price) Index.
In the commodities market, Brent Crude remained below US$80/barrel while gold prices snapped a five-day winning streak to close below US$2,740/oz. Meanwhile, CPO (crude palm oil) prices traded flat at around RM4,200/metric tonne.
The index retraced after hitting the 20-day moving average. However, the technical indicators are showing that the recovery may be hitting the limit with the RSI reversing back to the oversold zone while the MACD Histogram are having a rounding top formation.
Resistance is anticipated around 1,573-1,578 while support is set at 1,533-1,538. – Jan 28, 2025
