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 sustained its downtrend at the start of the week despite recouping most of its intraday losses to remain above the psychological 1,450 level at the close.
The sustained losses were in tandem with the weakness among regional indices that also responded to Wall Street’s lower closing last Friday.
The broader market stocks also retreated with overall losers still very much ahead of gainers for the day as the foreign selling intensified.
The near-term outlook remains unsettled, in our view, as the revised Budget 2023 was seen as largely neutral for most businesses.
At the same time, the results reporting season is approaching its finale that will again see fewer available leads for market players to follow.
Amid the fewer available impetuses, the market will be left directionless again with the lack of buying interest set to leave the key index to drift for longer.
For now, however, there looks to be support to preserve the key index above the psychological 1,450 level although there are still pockets of selling that could hinder its near-term recovery and leave it at the first gear for now.
Any rebound is likely to be mild with the 1,460 and 1,465 levels to serve as the immediate hurdles. Below 1,450 points, the support is at 1,447 points which is the recent low.
Malacca Securities Research
The FBM KLCI inched lower after hovering mostly in the red with selling pressure seen in other sectors outweighing gains in the banking heavyweights.
The rebound attempt on Wall Street overnight may trigger regional markets to recover some grounds.
Meanwhile, investors are awaiting the consumer confidence data and Chicago PMI to gauge the US Federal Reserve’s tone in interest rate direction.
We reckon cautious sentiment will prevail on the local front with foreign investors turning net sellers but bargain hunting may be noticed.
Commodities-wise, Brent crude price hovered above the US$82/barrel mark while crude palm oil (CPO) traded above RM4,220/metric tonne.
The FBM KLCI marked fourth-session losses but managed to close above its immediate support at 1,450. Technical indicators remained negative as the MACD Histogram extended a negative bar while the RSI is hovering below 50.
Should the key index break below 1,450, the next support is located at 1,430 while resistance is envisaged at 1,500-1,510. – Feb 28, 2023
