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 eked-out minute gains at the end of yesterday’s trading after lingering in the red for most of the day due to lack of interest in many of the heavyweights.
Nevertheless, the broader market shares were mostly higher as mild bargain hunting emerged with construction stocks being the big movers for the day.
This also enabled market breadth to turn to the positive side while improved buying interest saw traded volumes rising nearly 18% to 3.25 billion shares for the day.
We continue to see near-term market conditions remaining insipid as the key index constituents could look to find some more measure of stability and to build-up a base around the 1,630-1,640 levels as market players await the Budget 2025 to be tabled on Oct 18.
This wait-and-see stance may also see most stocks staying range-bound but the downside bias is also still present as foreign funds may still opt to lock-in profits on their winning positions on Bursa Malaysia to move to Greater China equities.
Therefore, the 1,630 support is still at risk even as the heavy selling pressure may have eased with the ensuing support pegged at 1,625 points. Above the 1,640 level, the hurdles are at 1,644 and 1,650 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
Despite Hong Kong experiencing a sharp decline after China’s stock market re-opened following the Golden Week holiday, the FBM KLCI managed to hold gains above the 1,630 level.
Similarly, Wall Street rebounded as the risk premium from Middle East tensions eased after Israel delayed its response.
This week, traders will be closely watching the release of the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meeting minutes and key inflation data such as CPI (consumer price index) and PPI (producer price index) to assess the direction of the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy.
In the commodities market, Brent crude experienced a sell-off by dropping below US$78/barrel while gold retraced toward the US$2,600/oz level. Crude palm oil (CPO) also pulled back below RM4,300/metric tonne as profit-taking activities emerged.
The FBM KLCI index ended flat at the 1,635 level. The technical readings on the key index were negative with the MACD histogram having formed another negative bar and the RSI trended below 50.
The resistance is envisaged around 1,650-1,655 while the support is set at 1,615-1,620. – Oct 9, 2024
