Daily Market Report (17 August 2023)
- Wall Street continues to weaken as sentiment was spooked by the Fed’s minutes which hinted of more possible rate hikes amidst the lingering inflation risks and tight labour situation.
- As a result, the DJI Average lost 191 points while the Nasdaq declined by 156 points as the US 10-year yield edged to another YTD high at 4.258%.
- Over in Hong Kong, the HSI slumped to a 3-month low following JP Morgan Chase and Barclays downgrading their growth estimates for China amid deepening economic woes and the lack of effective stimulus packages.
- On the domestic front, the FBM KLCI continues to chart impressive performance supported by broad based accumulation of blue chips despite the regional markets persistent decline.
- Nonetheless, the benchmark index YTD performance is still 2.1% lower year-on-year hence more upside for the local bourse can be expected.
- Though we are faced with some headwinds currently from the US and China, we believe market undertone remains strong especially from the recent upliftment of political uncertainty.
- For today, sentiment may remain cautious thus anticipate the index to hover between 1,455-1,465 range.
