BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
Malaysian equities lost pace at the start of the week and slipped below the psychological 1,600 level again as quick profit taking activities emerged.
Conditions turned indifferent in the absence of new leads that also deterred fresh buying and left stocks to drift instead.
Technology stocks were the big losers in the broader market and with conditions also lacklustre among the lower liners, losers were ahead of gainers for the day. At the same time, traded volumes continue to fall.
Buying interest appeared to have diminished on the back of a lack of new leads and this directionless trading environment looks to persist over the near term.
With fewer catalysts, the market is likely to stay fluid with most market players likely to remain on the sidelines for the time being.
Mild bargain hunting could still emerge but with the reduced market participation, any upside will be minimal with the 1,600 level remaining a difficult target to breach convincingly over the near term.
Above the 1,600 level, the other hurdles are at the 1,606-1,610 levels while the supports remain at 1,595 and 1,590 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
The FBM KLCI fell below the key 1,600 level amid lacklustre trading as investors stayed cautious amid the lack of fresh catalyst environment.
The key index may see mild consolidation over the near term with trading focus on the banking and consumer sectors as crude oil prices tumbled to trade around US$112/barrel on the back of growing concerns over weaker fuel demand in China after several lockdown measures were taken to curb COVID-19 infections.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) expects crude palm oil (CPO) price to remain around RM6,000/metric tonne level over the next few months, driven by the unresolved conflicts between Ukraine and Russia.
The FBM KLCI reversed and slipped below the psychological 1,600 level. Technical indicators, however, remained positive as the MACD Histogram has extended a positive bar while the RSI continued to stay above 50.
Immediate resistance is pegged at 1,600 while the support level is located at 1,550. – March 29, 2022
