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 gave back some of the gains it attained last Friday with quick profit taking setting in as market sentiments turned weaker following a slump in US shares at the end of last week that permeated to regional indices.
Sentiments also turned weaker amid the rising headwinds of tariffs and inflation that sent market players to safer assets.
The broader market was also a sea of red with the FBM Small Cap being among the big losers. At the same time, total losers also topped gainers by more than a 2-to-1 ratio.
We still see market conditions remaining relatively unsettled due to the lingering uncertainties over President Trump’s tariffs threats and the renewed inflationary concerns.
The on-going results reporting is also being followed closely that could offer clues on corporate performances in the year ahead with the reported earnings thus far has been broadly within expectations.
In the meantime, the calmer global equity market performance overnight may also provide some measure of support that should help to limit the downside effects on Bursa Malaysia over the near-term.
As a result, the downside pressure may be less intense with the key index being able to stay above the 1,580-support level for the time being, failing which the ensuing support is at 1,585 points. Meanwhile, the hurdles are at the 1,588-1,592 levels, followed by the 1,602 level.
Malacca Securities Research
The local bourse began the week on a negative note as Microsoft’s statement on softer data centre (DC) capex spooked the market and dampened sentiment across the local DC theme.
Also, Wall Street ended mostly lower ahead of Nvidia’s earnings report coupled with softer economic data pointing to weakened consumer demand.
We expect Wall Street to trade in a volatile manner as Hong Kong futures are down while cryptocurrency like Bitcoin has turned weaker at the time of writing.
For this week, traders will monitor (i) US Consumer Confidence; (ii) preliminary quarter-on-quarter (qoq) GDP (gross domestic trade); (iii) unemployment claims; and (iv) the Monthly Core PCE (Personal Consumption Expenditures) Price Index.
In the commodities market, Brent Crude traded around US$74/barrel while gold surged towards the US$2,950/oz level and CPO (crude palm oil) hovered around RM4,500/metric tonne.
The key index continues to hover between the EMA20-60 band but technical indicators remained weak. The MACD Histogram has turned negative while the RSI is slightly below 50, indicating weaker sentiment at this juncture.
Resistance is anticipated around 1,599-1604 while support is set at 1,564-1,569. – Feb 25, 2025
