Daily Market Report - 13 Mar 2025
  • Wall Street closed on a mixed note as trading remained rather choppy.
  • Although all 3 major indices managed to improve towards the end of the session, spurred by a weaker than expected CPI figure, market sentiment stayed cautious amid the US ongoing tariff war against the rest of the world.
  • Meanwhile, the US 10-year yield edged higher at 4.316%.
  • Over in Hong Kong, the HSI declined to settle at 23,600 on concerns of escalating tariff from Trump on Canada that could spillover elsewhere.
  • Nonetheless, it was also apparent that late bargain hunting activities emerged to drive the index higher to end off the day’s low.
  • Back home, the FBM KLCI surprisingly was trashed rather badly to end around the 1,480 level which is a 15-month low as foreign selling gathered momentum in addition to the adjustments for ex-dividend by some major banks hence the index sharp decline.
  • Though we remain adamant of a rebound, prevailing market undertone is weak hence expect the index to hover within the 1,480-1,500 range today.
Daily Market Report - 12 March 2025
  • Wall Street slumped further amid a mud slinging contest between Trump and Canada over the latest tariffs of which both agreed to suspend temporarily.
  • However, trading on US equities remains choppy on fresh recessionary concerns.
  • Meanwhile, the US 10-year yield edged higher at 4.282%.
  • Over in Hong Kong, the HSI closed flat despite a poor opening as bargain hunters returned in the afternoon session.
  • Early sentiment was spooked by recessionary fears in the US but soon dissipated as funds mopped up shares following Citigroup downgrades on US equities.
  • Back home, the FBM KLCI maintained its lacklustre performance as it closed just above the 1,520 level.
  • Foreign funds remain net sellers as we believe many are selling down their SEA region holdings as a knee jerk reaction and move over to Hong Kong for now.
  • We are certainly buyers of local shares at current levels, trending at a cheap 14x market PER hence expect some bargain hunting activities to emerge and the index to hover within the 1,515-1,530 range today.
Daily Market Report - 11 Mar 2025
  • Wall Street declined steeply as concerns of a weakening US economy gathers momentum further fuelled by hawkish comments from Trump of a transitional period for the US over the weekend.
  • As a result, the chance of more rate cuts may be in the offing to 3 times this year as the US 10-year yield slid to 4.219%.
  • In Hong Kong, the HSI slipped to below 24,000 level after China reported a decline in consumer price for February hence stoking fears of a potential deflation.
  • On the home front, our expectations of a swift rebound did not happen.
  • Instead, the index was further pressured by incessant selling to end around the 1,535 mark or a fresh YTD low, further aggravated by the broad-based regional weaknesses.
  • Nonetheless, we are adamant that a quick rebound should occur anytime soon and expect the index to hover within the 1,535-1,550 range today.
Daily Market Report - 10 March 2025
  • Wall Street ended on a positive note despite a weak start as all 3 major indices experienced an afternoon rally amid a volatile session.
  • Traders largely ignored the weaker job market for February as unemployment ticked higher at 4.1% from 4% before.
  • In view of the softening US economy, the US 10-year yield edged higher at 4.305%.
  • Over in Hong Kong, the HSI declined following a solid performance during the week.
  • Nonetheless, sentiment remains positive as confidence was buoyed from the outcome of the recent NPC meeting.
  • Back home, the FBM KLCI slumped to a YTD low at below the 1,550 level in line with the broad-based regional weaknesses.
  • However, we expect a swift rebound thus expecting the index to hover between the 1,550-1,565 range today.
  • Fundamentally, the local bourse remains sound as recent earnings result scorecard illustrates that 2025 growth is tagged at 9.2% after a 16.4% growth in 2024.
Daily Market Report - 7 March 2025
  • Wall Street slumped again despite the recent 1-month tariff reprieve for both Canada and Mexico as traders are now paying attention on the monthly layoff data for February 2025 which is the highest since July 2020.
  • There are rising concerns that the ongoing mass layoffs on Government staff will have negative impacts on the US economy.
  • Meanwhile, the US 10-year yield remained flat at 4.28%.
  • Over in Hong Kong, the HSI maintained its uptrend to close at a 3-year high to almost the 24,400 mark buoyed by China’s stimulus package during the National People’s Congress (NPC) underscore by the projected 5% GDP growth this year.
  • Therefore, many are expecting more easing measures to be announced by China in due course.
  • Back home, the FBM KLCI declined as sellers emerged, which we see as disappointing.
  • As a result, we believe the local bourse would continue to trend within a narrow range and hover between the 1,555-1,570 range today.