Daily Market Report (22 March 2023)
  • Wall Street extended its relief rally yesterday as sentiment turned positive following Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s reassurance to safeguard against further banking crisis.
  • Meanwhile, traders are also hoping a slower pace of rate hike from the FOMC today.
  • As such, the DJI Average added 316 points while the Nasdaq jumped by 185 points while the US 10-year yield edged higher to 3.61%.
  • In Hong Kong, stocks also improved with the HSI closing 258 points higher as concerns over the banking crisis eased from efforts by the US and Europe regulators to shore up confidence.
  • Back home, the FBM KLCI ended slightly higher despite sentiment remains rather cautious amid the heightened volatility of global equities.
  • For today, we expect the local bourse’s uptrend to continue buoyed by the positive performance on Wall Street, thus see the index to hover within 1,405-1,415 on persistent bargain hunting activities.
  • With interests shifted back to equities, gold prices declined to below USD1,945/oz following a spike up over the past few days.
  • As for crude oil price, the Brent crude recovered to above USD75/barrel as concerns over the banks receded.
Download
Daily Market Report (21 March 2023)
  • Wall Street staged a relief rally on hopes of an easing banking crisis along with the Federal Reserve’s rate decision tomorrow.
  • As a result, the DJI Average jumped by 383 points while the Nasdaq gained 45 points as the US 10-year yield inched marginally higher to 3.48%.
  • Over in Hong Kong, shares tumbled as the HSI plummeted by 518 points to just above the 19,000 level or a 3-month low.
  • Selling on banking stocks were evident following the demise of Credit Suisse plus a complete write-off of its bonds that spooked sentiment.
  • On the home front, the FBM KLCI ended just above the 1,400 mark supported by some bargain hunting activities especially on Telco stocks.
  • For today, in line with a more positive Wall Street closing overnight we reckon the local index to trend between the 1,400-1,415 range as we expect some broad-based accumulation at prevailing levels.
  • Meanwhile, gold price which went past the USD2,000/oz yesterday, ended below USD1,980/oz due to intra-day profit taking.
Download
Daily Market Report (20 March 2023)
  • Wall Street tumbled as concerns over the US banking system resurfaced with First Republic Bank being the latest facing liquidity crunch with more to come ahead of the FOMC meeting on 21/22 March.
  • Although all 3 major indices closed off the day’s low, the DJI Average fell 384 points while the Nasdaq declined by 87 points as the US 10year yield ended lower at 3.44%.
  • In Hong Kong, equities rebounded on improved sentiment over the ongoing banking crisis and China resuming live feed data for the bond market.
  • Domestically, the FBM KLCI surged past the 1,410 level underpinned by robust bargain hunting activities across the board.
  • Nonetheless, we reckon investors to remain wary over the volatile US market last week thus expect the index to possibly trend within a tight range again of between 1,405-1,415 until the outcome by FOMC becomes clear.
  • Flight of funds to safety was apparent as gold prices had surged to almost the USD1,990/oz.
  • Meanwhile, crude oil prices continued to slip with the Brent crude hovering below the USD73/barrel.
  • We still advocate investors to BUY on weakness if opportunity arises.
Download
Daily Market Report (17 March 2023)
  • Wall Street rebounded as bailouts for both Credit Suisse and First Republic Bank eased concerns of a deepening banking crisis despite the ECB (European Central bank) jacked up interest rates by another 50bps.
  • Meanwhile, many are betting that the Feds may be less aggressive in hiking interest rates next week.
  • As a result, the DJI Average gained 372 points while the Nasdaq jumped by 283 points as the US 10-year yield edged higher to 3.58%.
  • As for Hong Kong, the HSI tumbled 336 points on concerns of the banking crisis that spillover to the region.
  • Additionally, Baidu’s launch of its ChatGpt-like Ernie disappointed market as its share price slumped 6.4%.
  • Back home, in line with the regional downtrend, the FBM KLCI declined to just above the 1,390 level due to persistent selling on Banks, Telco and Energy stocks.
  • For today, a rebound is in the offing buoyed by the positive performance on Wall Street hence expect the index to hover within the 1,390-1,405 range on broad based accumulation.
Download
Daily Market Report (16 March 2023)
  • Wall Street closed off lows after a choppy session sparked by the banking crisis that is spreading to Europe with Credit Swiss being the latest to be hit by liquidity squeeze.
  • However, reports of pump priming by its shareholders eased fears as bargain hunting emerged.
  • US inflation for February that came in within expectation further injected some confidence that the Feds will be more lenient with interest rates hike next week.
  • As such, the DJI Average lost 281 points while the Nasdaq added 6 points as the US 10-year yield ended lower at 3.46%.
  • In Hong Kong, stocks rebounded as the benchmark HSI gained 292 points on improved China’s economic activity for 1Q2023 coupled with the easing worries on the US banking crisis.
  • Back home, the FBM KLCI also rebounded amid some caution as it closed above the 1,400 mark from broad-based buying.
  • Nonetheless, we reckon regional equities to face with some headwinds today as most major futures are trading on a mixed note at time of writing.
  • In view of this, we believe the local bourse may not be spared as the index may break below the 1,400 again with 1,385/90 as the immediate support.
  • However, we advocate investors to accumulate on weakness.
  • Meanwhile, crude oil prices were also affected by the banking crisis as the Brent crude declined to a 52-week low at below US$74/barrel.
Download