BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
Stocks on FBM KLCI were again mostly directionless, resulting in the key index trending within a narrow range yesterday.
Market leads were also far and in-between that left most stocks to continue on with their drifting trend in tune with the trend among key global equity indices.
As a result, losers continue to beat gainers with the majority of broader market shares also in a lull. The thin market following is manifested in the tepid traded volume of about 2.7 billion shares, slipping some 12% for the day.
With leads far and in-between, market conditions are likely to stay insipid for the time being, unable to gain significant traction to break out of the prevailing rangebound trend.
For the most part, buying interest is still low with the few available catalysts and with most market players likely to be on the sidelines until there is renewed confidence.
At the same time, there is also fresh apprehension over the direction of US interest rates that may continue to weigh-on market sentiments and further leave the market directionless.
Under the prevailing environment, the key index is likely to remain within the 1,640 and 1,650 levels for now with the other support and resistance levels pegged at 1,635 and 1,655 levels respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
The FBM KLCI and FBM Small Cap ended lower as profit-taking activities continued following the announcement of Budget 2025.
Meanwhile, Wall Street saw a mixed performance with uncertainty looming ahead of the US elections and on-going corporate earnings reports.
Additionally, rising Treasury yields which often indicate tighter monetary policy are reducing the likelihood of further rate cuts.
Currently, Bloomberg consensus suggests a 92% chance of a 25bps rate cut at the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.
In the commodities market, Brent crude extended its rebound for a second consecutive session, driven by China’s efforts to revive economic growth while gold prices surged near an all-time high. CPO prices also broke above the RM4,450/metric tonne resistance level, signalling a potential upward rally.
The FBM KLCI index ended lower towards the 1,642 level. The technical readings on the key index were mixed with the MACD histogram extended another positive histogram but the RSI has trended below 50.
The resistance is envisaged around 1,657-1,662 while the support is set at 1,622-1,627. – Oct 23, 2024
