BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
Malaysian stocks mounted a quick rebound yesterday, recovering from the steep falls from a day earlier as bargain hunting emerged, mainly from foreign funds.
In the process, the key index ended the day just shy of the 1,630 level with the construction sector rising the most.
In the broader market, most stocks also rose but their recovery was relatively benign due to the still cautious stance. Nevertheless, total gainers were well ahead of losers amid the quick rebound.
Some measure of stability seems to have been found following yesterday’s rebound but with still few noteworthy leads, the FBM KLCI is likely to stay mostly range-bound for the time being.
This means that the key index could also attempt to hover around the 1,630 level as it could now be on a holding pattern for the day while awaiting for new leads to emerge.
With the key index staying status quo, buying interest may also whittle down as market players could remain wary of its near-term direction and may prefer to stay on the sidelines for longer.
Amid the possibility of the sideway trend emerging, the supports are set at 1,625 points and 1,620 points respectively. The resistances, meanwhile, are at the 1,632-1,636 levels.
Malacca Securities Research
Overall, the local stock markets managed to rebound amid bargain hunting activities after a sharp decline on Monday. Still, traders are focusing on construction and property-related stocks.
Over in the US, the three major indices declined mildly and dipped further post-Alphabet and Tesla results; the latter fell as earnings missed consensus estimates.
Traders will be watching economic data like Flash Manufacturing and Services PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index) as well as new home sales that will be released later tonight.
In the commodity markets, Brent crude slid for the third session in a row on the back of renewed ceasefire negotiations in the Israel-Hamas conflict despite US oil inventories continuing to decline while gold price maintained above US$2,400/oz. Elsewhere, CPO (crude palm oil) price managed to trade nearer to RM4,000/metric tonne.
The FBM KLCI index closed higher around the 1,629 level. However, technical readings on the key index were mixed with the MACD histogram forming a rounding top formation and the RSI continuing to stay above 50.
The resistance is envisaged around 1,644-1,649 while the support is set at 1,609-1,614. – July 24, 2024
