Daily Market Report (17 May 2023)
- Wall Street closed on a weak note as traders are waiting for the outcome of the ongoing debt ceiling negotiation.
- Sentiment was further dampened by the lower April retail sales as the DJI Average declined by 336 points while the Nasdaq was marginally lower by 22 points with the US 10-year yield ending higher at 3.541%.
- In Hong Kong, equities ended flat as traders remain concern on China’s economic recovery which have had fizzled out of late.
- In addition, China’s April industrial production and retail data came in weaker than expected due partly to Beijing’s inability to boost confidence.
- Back home, the FBM KLCI finally broke out from its downtrend attributed to bargain hunting activities across selected sectors.
- Though we expect such buying to continue, overall sentiment remains cautious over the uncertainty in the US.
- For today, we reckon the index to hover within the 1,415-1,425 range.
- Meanwhile, crude palm oil price dipped to below RM3,500/tonne over the surge in output from Indonesia hence may see some selling on the Plantation counters today.
