Daily Market Report (22 May 2023)
- Wall Street ended on a weak note as optimism over a positive outcome for the US debt ceiling waned as negotiations were halted indefinitely.
- As a result, the DJI Average lost 109 points while the Nasdaq dipped 39 points as the US 10-year yield continued to trend higher currently at 3.682%.
- In Hong Kong, equities slumped with a 277-point decline following a weaker than expected results from Alibaba further indicating that the recovery from China may be losing momentum.
- Back home, trading on the local bourse remained lacklustre as the FBM KLCI closed flat attributed to some late buying on banking stocks.
- In view of the uncertainty from the US, we reckon regional sentiment to stay fragile hence expect the FBM KLCI to be under some selling pressure.
- Therefore, we believe the index to hover within the 1,420-1,430 range today with continued headwinds on the Plantation sector as the crude palm oil (CPO) futures fell below the RM3,400/tonne level or almost a 7-month low on slower demand.
