BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Berjaya Research
The FBM KLCI marched higher for the third straight session, lifted by gains in selected banking and consumer heavyweights.
However, market breadth remained negative while total trading volume improved to 3.6 billion shares, reflecting a broad-based profit taking amongst the lower liners.
Going forward, we expect quick profit-taking to take precedence following the FBM KLCI’s recent gains as investors may turn more cautious and lock in profits amid near-term uncertainties.
Market sentiment is likely to remain data-dependent with investors monitoring China’s inflation and Producer Price Index (PPI) data for further clues on domestic demand conditions and the health of the world’s second-largest economy alongside the US inflation rate data for indications of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy trajectory.
Any upside surprises in US inflation could reinforce concerns over interest rates remaining elevated for longer, potentially weighing on regional market sentiment and vice versa.
The broader market is expected to remain cautious amid external macro-economic uncertainties and on-going profit-taking activities with investors likely to favour selective stock-picking strategies.
Nevertheless, higher crude palm oil (CPO) prices could present trading opportunities within the plantation sector, particularly for stocks with stronger exposure towards upstream activities.
Against this backdrop, we expect the FBM KLCI to trade cautiously in the near term with potential profit-taking activities to emerge over the interim.
The immediate resistances are located at 1,630-1,640 points. Meanwhile, the immediate support is pegged at the 1,600 psychological, followed by 1,580 points.
Malacca Securities Research
Tracking Wall Street’s sell-off, we expect the local bourse to trade softer with investors selective towards post-Budget 2027 beneficiaries.
Despite profit-taking in MN Holdings Bhd following its RM293.9 mil data centre power contract, we view the pullback as a potential accumulation opportunity if it holds above its 20-day EMA (exponential moving average).
Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s (TNB) RM15 bil grid investment could also benefit transmission and distribution players such as Southern Cable Group Bhd and Powerwell Holdings Bhd.
Lastly, we favour Pekat Group Bhd, backed by its RM57.2 mil data centre lightning protection contract which lifts its unbilled order book to RM936 mil (~1.5x FY2025 revenue) while its planned 4Q 2026 Main Market transfer could attract institutional interest.
Despite the rebound yesterday, the FBM KLCI stayed below the MA (moving average) lines with technical indicators showing mixed signals as the MACD continued to trade in the negative territory while the RSI broke above the 30 level.
Key resistance lies at 1,638-1,643 while near-term support is expected around 1,603-1,608. – Oct 14, 2026
