BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
Despite making some headway in the early session, stocks turned mixed later in the day with the key index ending the day in the red once again as the selling among index-linked stocks continued.
Heavyweight glove maker stocks remained pressured due to the pick-up in the pace of the global COVID-19 vaccination programme, nullifying the gains on gaming giants Genting Bhd and Genting Malaysia Bhd as their operations resumed.
Although traded volumes slipped, it remained above the 10 billion mark for the day.
Looking ahead, conditions still appear unsettled following the key index’s inability to keep its intraday gains of late due to the quick and persistent late profit taking activities that is also leaving sentiments on the cautious side.
The ongoing results reporting season is also not helping with few outperforming reported results.
Consequently, we see the FBM KLCI continuing to drift with the downside bias still prevalent, sustaining the listless market condition for the foreseeable future.
However, we also think that there could be some mild buying that could help to cushion against steeper market falls as we think the recent low of 1,560 should provide some measure of support.
Below that, the other support is at the psychological 1,550 level. On the other hand, the hurdles are at the 1,570-1,580 levels for the time being.
Malacca Securities Research
In contrast with the regional gains, the FBM KLCI failed to sustain its intraday gains as the key index slipped into negative territory during the final trading hour.
We expect the arrival of the second batch of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine today and the vaccine distribution to different states will continue to attract buying interest in recovery-theme stocks moving forward.
Meanwhile, crude oil price continued to remain firm above the US$65 level for the time being. Also, traders will focus on sectors with high earnings certainty during this reporting season.
While the FBM KLCI continued to trade below the EMA120 level, consolidation may continue to take place.
Technical indicators have turned negative as the MACD Histogram has extended another red bar, while the RSI was hovering below 50.
Support is pegged around 1,550, while the resistance is envisaged at 1,590, followed by 1,600. – Feb 24, 2021
