BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
The FBM KLCI continued to make headway yesterday, rising above the 1,450 level in the process.
Buying interest was prevalent on banking and plantation stocks, casting aside the country’s weak industrial data that was still in the negative territory.
The buying interest also extended to the broader market, allowing for market breadth to return to the positive side again. Traded volumes, meanwhile, stayed above 3 billion shares albeit this was just marginally higher than Monday’s total volume.
Amid the FBM KLCI’s slow ascend, the near-term market undertone remains positive and there could still be more near-term upsides.
As it is, there remains buying support from foreign funds which have been instrumental in providing the lift to index heavyweights to rebound from the deeply oversold conditions in 1H 2023.
Their renewed buying interest should continue to provide the much-needed impetus for the sustained upside even as market conditions are already toppish following the strong upsides from the start of 2H 2023.
Despite the overnight weakness on Wall Street, the FBM KLCI may not let-up due to the sustained buying support but the upsides could be milder for now as it looks to fortify its position above the psychological 1,450 levels that was breached yesterday.
The next targets are at 1,459 and 1,464 points respectively while the 1,450 level is now the immediate support, followed by the 1,440 level.
Malacca Securities Research
It appears that the recent pullback has come to an end with the local bourse back on the recovery drive.
Given that the sentiment is turning more positive as of late, buying momentum may likely to sustain.
Still, we do caution that gains may be measured ahead of this weekend’s six state elections coupled with the renewed volatility on Wall Street.
The lower liners are also on a better footing with rotational play resumed ahead of the quarterly reporting season.
Going forward, investors will be keeping a close tab on China’s inflation rate and Malaysia’s retail sales data that will be released today.
Commodities-wise, Brent crude rose above the US$86/barrel mark while crude palm oil (CPO) prices hovered around RM3,700/metric tonne.
The FBM KLCI marched higher as the key index formed a flag-formation breakout yesterday. Technical indicators, however, stayed mixed as the MACD Histogram extended another negative bar while the RSI is approaching the overbought territory.
The immediate resistances are located along 1,460-1,480 while the support is pegged around 1,400-1,420. – Aug 9, 2023
