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 gained further headway to breach the psychological 1,600 level yesterday, the first time in two years amid continuing strong pick-up in selected index linked stocks.
The upsides were also in tandem with the regional market gains on hopes that the US Federal Reserve will reduce interest rates sooner rather than later.
The positivity also extended to lower liners while market breadth was positive for the day. Foreign buying also picked up that saw total volumes surge to nearly 5.5 billion shares.
The FBM KLCI’s ascend over the past few weeks has marked another milestone to lift Bursa Malaysia’s market capitalisation to a new record.
It also allowed the key index to pass the 1,600 resistance where it may now be attempting to consolidate above the level convincingly that would also extend the on-going market positivity.
With global equities also on a purple patch, the FBM KLCI is likely to maintain its ascend for now.
However, further gains could be more modest as the technical indicators are already overbought and a pullback is already due.
Market conditions could become choppier as a result but the key index could be looking to sustain above the 1,600 level for the time being with the immediate resistance pegged at 1,608 level, followed by the 1,614 level. Below the 1,600 support, the other support is at 1,595 points.
Malacca Securities Research
The FBMKLCI maintained its upward trend, rising for 12 days over the past 14 trading days as buying support was seen within the banking and utilities heavyweights while the FBM70 charged towards its all-time-high, suggesting that the overall market sentiment is bullish.
Over in the US, Wall Street ended mixed as the market digested the mixed batch of corporate earnings.
Meanwhile, traders will be focusing on the upcoming unemployment claims later tonight as well as the consumer sentiment data that will be released on Friday.
On the commodity markets, Brent crude traded in a range-bound mode around US$82-US$83/barrel while gold price traded mildly lower around US$2,315/oz as traders could be weighing on ceasefire hopes to the Israeli-Hamas conflict. Meanwhile, CPO (crude palm oil) performed a rebound above RM3,900/metric tonne.
The FBM KLCI index ended higher to a fresh 52-week high. The technical readings on the key index were positive with the MACD Histogram extending another positive bar while the RSI maintains above 50.
The resistance is envisaged around 1,620-1,625 while the support is set at 1,585-1,590. – May 8, 2024
