BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Berjaya Research
Malaysian equities started the week on a firm note, regaining the lost ground in trades towards the end of last week.
The fresh buying was supported by the positivity among regional indices and a pick-up in momentum on selected index-linked stocks amid mild bargain hunting activities.
The broader market indices were also mostly higher but market breadth was mixed with gainers and losers nearly equal. Traded volumes were also higher at 2.5 billion shares or some 27% higher than last Friday’s volume.
Although the key index managed to mount a decent recovery yesterday, we still see near-term market conditions remaining largely directionless on the dearth of noteworthy leads, both from domestic and foreign sources.
Consequently, the FBM KLCI is likely to stay range-bound, attempting to preserve most of its recent gains and to build up a base around the 1,580 and 1,590 levels.
This base building process could allow the key index to consolidate its recent gains, thus allowing it to re-test the psychological 1,600 level if it manages to build up a firmer base.
For now, however, the attempts could still be challenging due to the still low investor following and the persistent foreign selling is slowing the build-up.
At the same time, the technical indicators remain overbought which could keep further upsides in check for now. Apart from the above support and resistance levels, the others are at 1,568 points and 1,595 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
Despite Wall Street’s mixed performance, the FBM KLCI is expected to extend its bullish momentum today.
We remain optimistic on YTL Power International Bhd following news that the group, CelcomDigi Bhd and Maxis Bhd injected an additional RM116.7 mil each into Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) to fund the country’s second 5G roll-out, potentially increasing the trading appetite for telco companies like TIME dotCom Bhd and Telekom Malaysia Bhd.
Besides, we like YTL Power’s positioning as the country’s AI (artificial intelligence) leader, supported by its upcoming debut of ILMU 1.0 and Ryt Bank.
Other companies that are expected to benefit from the data centre and AI development include those in the property and utility sectors.
The FBM KLCI traded higher and is well supported above all the MA (moving average) lines with technical indicators showing positive signals; the MACD histogram has expanded above zero while the RSI is approaching 70.
Resistance is anticipated around 1,599-1,604 while support is located at 1,564-1,569. – Aug 19, 2025
