Daily Market Report - 7 May 2025
  • Wall Street trended lower ahead of the Federal Reserve policy meeting and the much anticipated post meeting press statement by Jerome Powell later today.
  • Meanwhile, the US 10-year yield ended lower at 4.298%.
  • After a short break, the Hong Kong market closed positively on optimism over the potential easing of the trade tension between China and the US in addition to the Federal Reserve interest rate decision this Thursday.
  • Back home, the FBM KLCI again succumbed to late selling activities to end at 1,535 level despite a positive opening amid another muted trading day.
  • Judging by the lacklustre trading over the past 2 days, we believe the index to remain stuck within a narrow range of between 1,530-1,540 range today.
  • Meanwhile, crude oil prices improved albeit slightly on expectations that crude oil output may peak sooner rather than later.
  • As such, the Brent crude climbed to above the USD62/barrel.
Daily Market Report - 6 May 2025
  • Wall Street ended lower as tariff uncertainty continues to weigh on the market.
  • Meanwhile, focus has also shifted to the Federal Reserve policy meeting starting today.
  • Reflecting the market uncertainty, the US 10-year yield edged higher at 4.349%.
  • Hong Kong market was closed for Wesak day and will resume trading today.
  • Back home the FBM KLCI closed lower attributed to late selling activities amid muted market participation as shown by the low daily volume.
  • The benchmark index had performed rather credibly, adding approximately 30 points boosted by the return of foreign buying.
  • Last week saw an encouraging net foreign inflow of RM854m after a tidal wave of outflows since the start of this year.
  • As such, we believe foreign buying may persist, hence anticipate the index to trend within the 1,540-1,550 range today.
  • Meanwhile, crude palm oil (CPO) price continues to slide, currently at around the RM3,800/tonne mark in line with the weak crude oil price that saw the Brent crude hovering at around USD60/barrel level.
Daily Market Report - 5 May 2025
  • Wall Street ended broadly higher buoyed by the better than expected non-farm payroll for April, easing fears of a US recession.
  • Unemployment remains at 4.2% while the US 10-year yield edged higher to 4.308%.
  • Over in Hong Kong, the HSI ascended above the 22,500 level as sentiment was boosted by optimism over the potential trade talk between China and the US coupled with strong earnings from tech giants like Xiaomi and Alibaba.
  • Back home, late buying on the local bourse saw the FBM KLCI closing above the 1,540 mark and if this is sustainable, we may see the index to re-test the 1,600 anytime soon.
  • We are indeed heartened by the return of foreign buying of late which had saw unprecedented outflows since the beginning of 2025.
  • As such, we believe the index to trend within the 1,540-1,555 range today.
  • Finally, it is also worthwhile to note that the Ringgit has strengthened to RM4.26/USD1.
Daily Market Report - 2 May 2025
  • Wall Street rose as traders preferred to focus on the results posted by both Meta Platforms and Microsoft that beat expectations.
  • This came when weekly jobless claims increases, showing a slowing economy with the US 10- year yield edged higher at 4.216%.
  • The Hong Kong and Malaysia markets were closed for Labour Day yesterday.
  • Nonetheless, both markets ended on a positive note on Wednesday.
  • The HSI maintained above the 22,000 level buoyed by heavyweights namely AIA and Xiaomi despite a weakened PMI (purchasing manager’s index) for April.
  • Back home, the FBM KLCI sprung another surprise by surging past the 1,530 level to close at 1,540.
  • Though buying was broad-based, we noticed interests were particularly centred on the banks, telcos and Petronas related companies.
  • Meanwhile, earnings reported so far have been rather encouraging, indicating corporate Malaysia may be on the right track to achieve the estimated 16% growth for CY2024.
  • As such, we expect the index to trend within the 1,535-1,545 range today.
Daily Market Report - 30 Apr 2025
  • Wall Street closed firmer following statement from the White House that the US is close to a trade deal with India.
  • Meanwhile, traders are also looking at earnings from Meta and Microsoft later today and that the US 10-year yield continued to slide to 4.172%.
  • In Hong Kong, the HSI rose marginally as traders are waiting for earnings from the banks following HSBC impressive 1Q25 results that beat estimates while also keeping an eye on the latest developments of the ongoing trade war.
  • On the home front, the FBM KLCI retreated to around the 1,515 level amid profit taking activities despite a strong opening.
  • The benchmark index gained around 25 points over the previous 4 days before today’s retracement.
  • Hopefully this is just a brief correction ahead of Labour Day break this Thursday.
  • Nonetheless, we believe market undertone remains strong underscore by the reasonable market valuations hence expect the index to hover within the 1,510-1,525 range today.