Daily Market Report (6 March 2024)
  • Wall Street slumped as sellers emerged following the recent record breaking sessions by the 3 major indices.
  • Concerns that prevailing fundamentals may not be able to sustain the high valuations prompted some traders to lock in profits.
  • As a result, the DJI Average lost 404 points while the Nasdaq declined by 268 points despite the US 10-year yield easing to 4.151%.
  • Over in Hong Kong, the HSI weakness continues as it closed 433 points lower to hover just above the 16,000 threshold after China’s annual parliamentary meeting which unveiled only modest fiscal measures amid some ambitious growth targets.
  • Back home, the FBM KLCI pared earlier losses to end slightly lower attributed to some late buying activities.
  • Regional weaknesses coupled with the lack of fresh leads saw a weak morning session for the local bourse.
  • Though we expect market undertone to stay cautious from the decline on Wall Street, a swift rebound is required for the FBM KLCI to maintain its recent progress.
  • Therefore, we believe the index to hover within the 1,535-1,545 range today and recent positive newsflow within the Construction sector should bode well for the contractors.
Daily Market Report (5 March 2024)
  • Wall Street retreated as traders were sidelined after a record breaking run amid the ongoing rally within the AI frenzy.
  • Interests are shifted to the Federal Reserve updates on its policy over the next 2 days to gauge the outlook for interest rates.
  • As such, the DJI Average declined by 97 points while the Nasdaq fell 67 points as the US 10-year yield edged higher at 4.217%.
  • In Hong Kong, the HSI ended off the day’s low as focus moved to China’s annual legislative session today to determine the government budgets to tackle the sluggish Chinese economy.
  • At home, the FBM KLCI closed above water attributed to last minute buying activities after a solid performance during the morning session.
  • We see market undertone has turned cautious with investors looking for fresh leads hence expect the index to hover within the 1,545-1,555 range today as daily volume shrunk to the 3bn shares level.
Daily Market Report (4 March 2024)
  • Record chasing Wall Street closed on another high as sentiment remains very much entrenched on the AI frenzy.
  • While the DJI Average gained 91 points, both the Nasdaq and S&P500 tested record highs adding 183 points and 41 points respectively.
  • Meanwhile, the US 10-year yield eased further to 4.186%.
  • In Hong Kong, the HSI closed higher as traders are betting that Chinese authorities will inject more stimulus following another dip in manufacturing activities for February.
  • On the home front, the FBM KLCI surprisingly performed quite badly to dip below the 1,540 level after a positive start as profit taking activities emerged despite some decent corporate earnings results.
  • Nonetheless, we remain adamant that buying from foreign funds to persist thus expect the local bourse to stage a rebound and hover within the 1,540-1,550 range today.
  • Meanwhile, we noticed that daily volume traded has been improving over the last few days illustrating better retail participation.
Daily Market Report (1 March 2024)
  • Wall Street closed broadly higher spearheaded by Nasdaq as buyers reemerged after the latest personal consumption expenditure for January came in within market expectations.
  • As such, the Nasdaq jumped 144 points while the DJI Average added 47 points as the US 10-year yield dipped further to 4.254%.
  • Over in Hong Kong, the HSI ended slightly lower attributed to profit taking activities coupled with weak earnings report from Baidu and Budweiser.
  • Nonetheless, overall sentiment should stabilize following the removal of curbs on home purchases and property financing limits.
  • Back home, the FBM KLCI rebounded as buying on blues chips resumes supported by a slew of decent corporate earnings reported recently particularly from the Banks and Telcos.
  • We believe buying on the Blues to continue as most are still trading below their historical average valuations thus expect the index to hover within the 1,550-1,560 range today.
Daily Market Report (29 February 2024)
  • Wall Street ended lower as traders were sidelined ahead of the personal consumption expenditure data that is due later today.
  • As a result, the DJI Average closed 23 points lower while the Nasdaq declined by 88 points as the US 10-year yield dipped to 4.266%.
  • Over in Hong Kong, the HSI lost 254 points, the worst in 4 weeks as traders decided to lock in profits.
  • Nonetheless, Hong Kong developers received a boost following the lifting of curbs on property transactions.
  • Back home, the FBM KLCI closed broadly lower as profit taking activities surfaced after recent uptrend amongst the blue chips.
  • We find the selling a tad overdone as investors decided to lock in profits especially for the Utilities sector following recent strong performance.
  • We reckon a swift rebound is required to maintain recent upbeat sentiment so to carry the index further.
  • Therefore, we expect the index to possibly hover within the 1,545-1,555 today.