BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
Malaysian equities extended their downtrend at the start of the week as selling continues to dominate trades due to the lack of leads.
This also saw most market players staying on the sidelines and resulting in Monday’s total trades whittling down to less than 2.5 billion shares for the day.
Although energy stocks rose, banking stocks lost ground with many lower liners and broader market shares also pulling back further. As a result, market breadth remained decidedly negative.
The immediate market outlook remains insipid but after an extended downward trend the key index could be angling for some reprieve to break its downward spell.
This follows the strong overnight gains on Wall Street that should also permeate to the local equity market as it looks to regain traction.
There should be some mild bargain hunting but the upsides may be limited as tentativeness still exist that could keep market interest subdued for longer.
In particular, the still low participation rate is likely to keep a lid on the upsides due to the subdued buying interest.
Therefore, the market may only head towards its immediate hurdle around the 1,585-1,590 levels for the time being. The next resistance is at the 1,595 level while the 1,580 level is the immediate support followed by the 1,575 level.
Malacca Securities Research
The FBM KLCI marked a third session of decline amid mixed regional sentiment as traders took profit prior to the public holiday; financial stocks lagged within the broader market.
However, we expect the bargain hunting activities to emerge on the local bourse amid declining COVID-19 confirmed cases coupled with the rebound on Wall Street overnight.
Meanwhile, the acceptance of the highway deal by Gamuda Bhd may trigger some buying interest within the construction and building material segments.
Commodity-wise, Brent crude oil trended lower, trading around US$107/barrel while crude palm oil futures (FCPO) settled above RM6,400/metric tonne.
The FBM KLCI fell for the third consecutive session as the key index slid below the SMA50 level. Technical indicators remained negative as MACD Histogram moved lower from zero while the RSI hovered below 50.
Immediate support is located around 1,580 while the resistance is pegged around 1,600-1,620. – April 20, 2022
