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 ended Tuesday marginally lower despite starting the day on a positive note.
However, profit taking among the heavyweights kept the key index below the 1,500 psychological level as well as bucking the positive trend among its regional peers.
Conditions in the broader market were also relatively subdued with traded volumes remaining below the 2.5 billion shares mark. At the same time, market breadth stayed negative due to lack of buying support.
With investor interest still lacklustre, the key index is likely to remain broadly listless even as the global equity market conditions have improved of late.
This could leave the key index to drift as it attempts to find a base around the 1,480-1,500 levels.
As it is, the selling has abated but lack of buying interest due to prevailing concerns over the Omicron variant and potentially muted corporate earnings in 2022 could keep most market players cautious for longer.
Nevertheless, there may be some bargain hunting in line with the gains in key overseas markets overnight, but the upsides could still be tepid due to the lack of fresh buying interes, hence the 1,500 level may prove to be a formidable level to clear.
Apart from the above ranges, there is an interim support at 1,490 points while above the 1,500 level, the other resistance is at 1,503 points.
Malacca Securities Research
The FBM KLCI traded marginally lower as healthcare stocks succumbed to profit taking activities, bucking their regional peers.
However, Wall Street cheered positively, brushing off the concerns over COVID-19 Omicron variant as President Joe Biden commented that people with booster shots are “highly protected”.
Such buying support is likely to spill-over onto the local front and could lift the bashed down technology stocks as well as the recovery theme sectors.
Also, we expect window dressing may emerge in the near term to lift the FBM KLCI at least above the key 1,500 level.
On the commodity markets, crude oil price rebounded to trade around US$74/barrel while crude palm oil (CPO) is hovering around RM4,400/metric tonne.
The FBM KLCI extended losses with the key index falling below the key 1,500 level to close below the daily EMA9 level.
Technical indicators remained mixed as the MACD Histogram has extended a positive bar while the RSI is hovering below the 50 level. The support is located at 1,475 while the resistance is pegged along 1,505-1,535. – Dec 22, 2021
