BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
Malaysian stocks lost further ground last Friday and ended the week below the psychological 1,450 level.
Once again, Bursa Malaysia’s weakness was in line with the insipid regional indices that were spooked by the Fed’s hawkish stance on interest rates.
The selling also permeated to the lower liners and broader market shares as they also succumbed to profit taking ahead of the long weekend, resulting in market breadth remaining negative.
Market conditions have become relatively indifferent again after the FBM KLCI failed to hold on to the gains it attained in the most recent run-up.
This is also leaving the key index at the crossroads due to the lack of follow-through buying interest.
As it is, optimism over the US interest rate direction has turned to dismay after the Fed hinted that it may still resort to lifting interest rates to combat inflation.
At the same time, domestic leads continue to be thin with market players waiting for more corporate results to be announced over the coming weeks that will allow them to assess the corporate prospects heading into 2024.
With the key index slipping below the 1,450 level and few signs of a rebound as yet, the near-term outlook is still meek and the downside bias remains for now.
The supports are now at the 1,438-1,440 levels, followed by the 1,432 level, which is the 200-day moving average line.
Malacca Securities Research
The FBM KLCI closed in the negative territory for the session after visiting the intraday low around 1,425.
Overall trading sentiment was softer amid profit taking activities prior to the long weekend break.
Meanwhile, Wall Street had a good pump last Friday, surging across three benchmark indices before turning flat on Monday where traders were mixed ahead of the CPI (Consumer Price Index) data that will be released later tonight with PPI (Producer Price Index) releasing tomorrow.
These data will provide significant clues for the US Federal Reserve’s to determine the overall interest rate environment going forward and hence the traders were trading cautiously.
On the commodity markets, Brent crude prices rebounded above USD 80/barrel as OPEC kept its demand outlook unchanged with the anticipation of higher demand from China.
The FBM KLCI ended lower for the fourth consecutive session, forming a long hammer. The technical readings on the key index are mixed, with the MACD Histogram forming a rounding top formation while the RSI maintains slightly above 50.
The resistance is pegged around 1,470-1,480 whie the support is at 1,440-1,450. – Nov 14, 2023
