BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
Malaysian equities succumbed to profit taking after it failed to take out the 1,610-level yesterday which also left it to close below the 1,600 level for the day.
CIMB Group Holdings Bhd was among the main loser after it was sued by some depositors and made provisions for transaction errors.
The broader market also saw continuing profit taking that caused market breadth to stay negative. However, the construction index emerged as the biggest gainer following Gamuda Bhd’s big contract win in Australia.
The near-term outlook is likely to stay unsettled amid the ongoing uncertainties over the Russia-Ukraine war. At the same time, the recent gains by some of the heavyweights are already overdone with fewer buying opportunities left.
However, there could still be pockets of interest among plantation and oil & gas (O&G) stocks as commodity prices remain on the rise with crude palm oil (CPO) prices reaching records while oil prices are at seven-year highs.
The nibbling on these stocks should provide some support but the market could still become choppier as profit taking activities is likely to continue for now.
As such, the support is now at pegged at 1,590 points followed by the 1,585 level. The hurdles, on the other hand, are at the psychological 1,600 level followed by the 1,608 level.
Malacca Securities Research
Despite a broad rebound in regional markets, the FBM KLCI retreated to close below the 1,600 psychological level as investors focused on the geopolitical developments between Russia-Ukraine after the earnings season.
With the Wall Street remained in the risk-off mode overnight, we expect volatility to persist with profit taking activities continuing on the local front amid the unsettled Russia-Ukraine crisis.
Nevertheless, elevated commodity prices coupled with the net buying of foreign funds should lend support to the local bourse.
At the time of writing, Brent oil is trading above US$107/barrel while CPO has surged above RM7,000/metric tonne.
The FBM KLCI has fallen below the 1,600 psychological level. Technical indicators, however, is slightly positive as the Histogram turned positive while the RSI continued to hover above the 50 level.
Support is set around 1,570-1,580 while the resistance is located around 1,615. – March 2, 2022
