Daily Market Report (24 March 2023)
  • Wall Street ended higher as investors bet that the US Fed may be nearing the end of its rate hiking cycle.  
  • Meanwhile, US treasury secretary Janet Yellen reassured that steps will be taken to keep deposits safe at banks.
  • Therefore, the DJIA rose 75 points while the Nasdaq gained 117 points.
  • Over in Hong Kong, the HSI closed sharply higher mainly due to strong buying on China’s tech giant Tencent.
  • On the domestic front, the FBM KLCI closed off its day low yesterday and ended flattish attributed to bargain hunting activities during the late trading session.
  • At current level, we believe the FBM KLCI remain oversold position, hence we reckon the benchmark index to stage a rebound soon particularly the banking stocks.
  • Thus, we expect the FBM KLCI to trend higher, within the range of 1,410-1,420 for today.
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Daily Market Report (23 March 2023)
  • Wall Street ended lower despite the highly anticipated 25bps hike in interest rates by the Feds.
  • Sentiment remains fragile as the Federal Reserve continue to battle inflation and that credit condition will become tighter prompting a sell-down on banking stocks.
  • Therefore, the DJI Average tumbled by 530 points while the Nasdaq lost 190 points with the US 10-year yield closed lower at 3.45%.
  • Over in Hong Kong, concerns over the banking crisis receded as the HSI jumped by 333 points further buoyed by Geely Automobile’s earnings that beat expectations.
  • As for the local bourse, the FBM KLCI closed above the 1,410 level due to some late buying activities on the Banks.
  • For today, it will be interesting to see how regional markets react to the slump on Wall Street overnight on the back of the much hyped 25bps increase.
  • Though sentiment may turn cautious, we reckon buying activities to persist within the regional markets post the Feds decision.
  • Therefore, we anticipate the index to trend within the 1,405-1,420 range today with interests returning to the Oil & Gas stocks underpinned by improving crude oil prices as the Brent crude edged closer to USD77/barrel.
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Daily Market Report (22 March 2023)
  • Wall Street extended its relief rally yesterday as sentiment turned positive following Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s reassurance to safeguard against further banking crisis.
  • Meanwhile, traders are also hoping a slower pace of rate hike from the FOMC today.
  • As such, the DJI Average added 316 points while the Nasdaq jumped by 185 points while the US 10-year yield edged higher to 3.61%.
  • In Hong Kong, stocks also improved with the HSI closing 258 points higher as concerns over the banking crisis eased from efforts by the US and Europe regulators to shore up confidence.
  • Back home, the FBM KLCI ended slightly higher despite sentiment remains rather cautious amid the heightened volatility of global equities.
  • For today, we expect the local bourse’s uptrend to continue buoyed by the positive performance on Wall Street, thus see the index to hover within 1,405-1,415 on persistent bargain hunting activities.
  • With interests shifted back to equities, gold prices declined to below USD1,945/oz following a spike up over the past few days.
  • As for crude oil price, the Brent crude recovered to above USD75/barrel as concerns over the banks receded.
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Daily Market Report (21 March 2023)
  • Wall Street staged a relief rally on hopes of an easing banking crisis along with the Federal Reserve’s rate decision tomorrow.
  • As a result, the DJI Average jumped by 383 points while the Nasdaq gained 45 points as the US 10-year yield inched marginally higher to 3.48%.
  • Over in Hong Kong, shares tumbled as the HSI plummeted by 518 points to just above the 19,000 level or a 3-month low.
  • Selling on banking stocks were evident following the demise of Credit Suisse plus a complete write-off of its bonds that spooked sentiment.
  • On the home front, the FBM KLCI ended just above the 1,400 mark supported by some bargain hunting activities especially on Telco stocks.
  • For today, in line with a more positive Wall Street closing overnight we reckon the local index to trend between the 1,400-1,415 range as we expect some broad-based accumulation at prevailing levels.
  • Meanwhile, gold price which went past the USD2,000/oz yesterday, ended below USD1,980/oz due to intra-day profit taking.
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Daily Market Report (20 March 2023)
  • Wall Street tumbled as concerns over the US banking system resurfaced with First Republic Bank being the latest facing liquidity crunch with more to come ahead of the FOMC meeting on 21/22 March.
  • Although all 3 major indices closed off the day’s low, the DJI Average fell 384 points while the Nasdaq declined by 87 points as the US 10year yield ended lower at 3.44%.
  • In Hong Kong, equities rebounded on improved sentiment over the ongoing banking crisis and China resuming live feed data for the bond market.
  • Domestically, the FBM KLCI surged past the 1,410 level underpinned by robust bargain hunting activities across the board.
  • Nonetheless, we reckon investors to remain wary over the volatile US market last week thus expect the index to possibly trend within a tight range again of between 1,405-1,415 until the outcome by FOMC becomes clear.
  • Flight of funds to safety was apparent as gold prices had surged to almost the USD1,990/oz.
  • Meanwhile, crude oil prices continued to slip with the Brent crude hovering below the USD73/barrel.
  • We still advocate investors to BUY on weakness if opportunity arises.
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