BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Berjaya Research
The FBM KLCI surrendered its intraday gains to end last Friday virtually unchanged after President Trump ratcheted up his tariff rhetorics against the US’ trading partners, thus further clouding the prospects of the global economy.
However, the broader market stayed relatively steadfast to preserve their upsides for the most part.
This is reflected in the still positive market breadth with the continuing bouts of trading activities and traded volumes were little changed.
Market conditions are likely to remain cautious at the start of the week following President Trump’s announcement of hefty tariffs on imports from Mexico and the EU, thus heightening the US’ trade barriers and leaving equities in a state of flux again.
This has already caused consternation among global equities at the end of last week’s trading and is likely to carry over to the start of this week.
Nevertheless, selling pressure could still be benign on expectations that the hefty tariffs are part of the US President’s negotiation playbook and may still be reduced.
Therefore, the key index’s downsides could be measured with mild bouts of buying support to keep the key index mostly range-bound for now.
Consequently, the supports remain pegged at 1,530 points and 1,523 points while the resistance are at 1,544 points and at 1,550 points respectively.
Malacca Securities Research
Following the negative sentiment on Wall Street amid protracted trade war concerns, the local bourse may open on a weaker note.
However, Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) 25 basis points (bps) OPR (overnight policy rate) cut and the prospects of further easing should cushion downside risk on the local front, especially in property stocks given the lower mortgage rates.
We also view this as an opportune to build positions in REITs which still offer premium dividend yields to Malaysian bonds.
Meanwhile, we favour utility companies like MN Holdings Bhd and UUE Holdings Bhd as both companies may be a decent proxy for Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s capex roll-out on power grid upgrades, renewable energy as well as NETR (National Energy Transition Roadmap) policies.
The local bourse snapped its gains and closed lower. However, momentum is mixed at the current juncture as the MACD histogram has expanded into negative territory while the RSI is still hovering above the 50 level.
Resistance is anticipated around 1,551-1,556 while support is located at 1,516-1,521. – Jully 14, 2025
