Stocks on Bursa Malaysia closed mixed yesterday in tandem with the softer regional markets as investors adopted a wait-and-see attitude, as the investors were also awaiting more clues by policymakers to boost global economic growth. The benchmark FBM KLCI fell 3.69 points to close at 1,650.09 after hitting another new record- intra-day-high of 1,654.34. Advancers outnumbered decliners by 432 to 332 while 322 counters were unchanged. Turnover increased to 1.562 billion shares worth RM1.402 billion from 1.113 billion shares worth RM1.185 billion on Wednesday.
The FBM KLCI opened 1.34 points lower at 1,652.44 but rebounded to hit another new record intra-day high of 1,654.34 within the first thirty minutes of trading. The key index then fell lower on heavy profit-taking activity to the intra-day low of 1,648.03 before rebounding slightly to close off low. Chart-wise, the FBM KLCI formed a bearish black spinning-top candlestick which indicates uncertainty in the market direction with a downward bias. The appearance of this bearish candlestick also served to confirm the top reversal signal issued by the white hanging-man candlestick formed the previous day. Hence, the FBM KLCI is likely to further correct or consolidate itself with immediate downside support zone at 1,648 to 1,645.
MACD has turned flat while the histogram has contracted, indicating a loss in the upward momentum. Nevertheless, as MACD is still above the signal line, the current weakness is viewed as just a pullback correction. RSI (14) fell to 65.1 from 69.7, reflecting the pullback in the key index, but the short term relative strength is still bullish. Stochastic was marginally lower at 95.6 compared with 95.7 previously but is still above the slow stochastic line. Readings from the indicators showed that the FBM KLCI is undergoing a mild pullback correction after charting record high the previous day, but is still overall bullish.
As expected, the FBM KLCI corrected itself yesterday after charting a record high. However, the overall uptrend is still intact. As the long weekend is approaching, the market is expected to stay quiet as most players would choose to stay sideline during a long holiday break. Bursa Malaysia will be closed on Monday and Tuesday in conjunction with the Hari Raya Aidil Fitri celebrations.
Overnight, the Dow rose +85.33 points or +0.65% to close at 13,250.11. Today, the FBM KLCI is likely to trade within a range of 1,640 to 1,661.
This week's expected range: 1621 – 1660
Today’s expected range: 1640 – 1661
Resistance: 1654, 1657, 1661
Support: 1640, 1644, 1647