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.