BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Berjaya Research
The key index edged lower with more than two-thirds of the key index components retreating on the final trading day of August.
Still, the local bourse managed to log-in a 4.1% month-on-month (m-o-m) gain – its biggest monthly gain since July 2023.
The lower liners, however, remained downbeat with the transportation & logistics sector (+0.1%) being the sole outperformer among its sectorial peers.
Traded volumes, meanwhile, rose a tad above 3 billion shares as selling activities escalated.
Ahead of the extended weekend break, the FBM KLCI retreated again as foreign participants remained net sellers last Friday.
As we conclude the recent batch of quarterly results reporting, investors are expected to shift their focus toward upcoming macroeconomic data and policy cues for further market direction.
Going into September, growing optimism over a potential US Federal Reserve interest rate cut will be the key focus in the coming weeks.
While a dovish Fed stance could lend supports to regional equities through improved liquidity and risk appetite, persistent foreign outflows and lingering uncertainties over global trade policies may cap near-term gains.
In the holiday shortened trading week ahead, we expect the local market to stay largely directionless with near term support located at 1,560 and 1,550 points respectively.
Meanwhile, the near-term resistance is pegged at 1,588 points, followed by the 1,600 psychological level.
Malacca Securities Research
We expect the local bourse to start the week on a softer note, tracking US negative index futures.
Meanwhile, positive spill-over effect may be seen in 99 Speed Mart Retail Holdings Bhd as more than RM50 mil was spent on the first day of the RM100 SARA cash hand-out.
The recent news that Gamuda Bhd bagged an RM2.1 bil job to build a hyperscale data centres in Eco Business Park V, Selangor is expected to bode well for data centre-related sectors, including construction and property developers with exposure to industrial tech parks.
Lastly, traders can monitor NexG Bhd (formerly Datasonic Group Bhd) as it bagged a six-year contract worth RM1.7 bil to supply Malaysian passports and is currently pending a re-test of its 52-week high resistance.
The FBM KLCI continued to be supported above the MA (moving average) lines with mixed technical indicators as the MACD histogram expanded negatively while the RSI hooked downward below 70.
Resistance is anticipated around 1,590-1,595 while support is located at 1,555-1,560. – Sept 2, 2025
