BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Berjaya Research
The FBM KLCI ended marginally lower after trading in a narrow range as concerns over unabated geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continued to weigh on investor sentiment.
Trading activity, however, improved with total volume rising to 4.13 billion shares from 3.60 billion shares in the previous session.
Market breadth was fairly balanced with 546 advancers against 548 decliners, highlighting a lack of clear directional conviction among market participants.
Going forward, the FBM KLCI is likely to remain range-bound and volatile amid persistent external uncertainties, particularly the escalation in Middle East tensions and the accompanying surge in crude oil prices.
Brent crude futures have risen to above US$97/barrel following renewed attacks on energy infrastructure, heightening concerns over inflation and global monetary policy.
With market focus on inflation and the US Federal Reserve’s rate trajectory, the CME FedWatch tool indicates a 58.4% probability of a rate hike this month.
Technically, the key index managed to recover its intraday losses to remain in the consolidation range.
The immediate resistances are located at 1,722 points, followed by 1,727 points. Meanwhile, near-term supports remain pegged at 1,700 points and 1,686 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
Tracking Wall Street’s negative overnight performance, we believe overall sentiment for the FBM KLCI may stay generally weaker.
However, given the elevated oil prices, traders could look for energy-related plays for short-term trading opportunities, particularly Hengyuan Refining Company Bhd and PETRONAS Chemicals Group Bhd.
We further favour both SAM Engineering & Equipment (M) Bhd and EI Power Bhd with the former acting as a proxy for applied materials and seeing robust equipment orders as the broader semiconductor market enters an AI (artificial intelligence) supercycle.
Meanwhile, the latter is supported by accelerated revenue conversion from mission-critical DC (data centre) power delivery and its expansion into Thailand.
The FBM KLCI experienced a marginal retreat yesterday with technical indicators remaining soft. The MACD histogram continues to trade at its negative territory while the RSI remains below the 50 level.
Key resistance lies at 1,729-1,734 with support anchored at 1,694-1,699. – Sept 9, 2026
