Stocks on Bursa Malaysia closed broadly lower yesterday in quiet trading, with prices moving sideways as investors preferred to stay on the sidelines. The FBM KLCI slipped 3.32 points or 0.19% to end the day at 1,707.97 points vis-à-vis last Friday’s close of 1,711.29. The barometer index fluctuated between 1,706.29 and 1,711.85 throughout the day. Losers overwhelmed gainers by 496 to 208, with 288 counters unchanged. Volume fell to 682.128 million shares worth RM1.402 billion from 746.76 million shares valued at RM2.273 billion on last Friday.
The FBM KLCI opened 1.29 points lower at 1,709.70 and slipped to the intra-day low of 1,706.29 within the first thirty minute of trading, and rebounded to hit the intra-day high of 1,711.85 at noon. The key index came under selling pressure in the afternoon to close near the intra-day low. Chart-wise, the FBM KLCI formed a bearish black spinning-top candlestick in Harami position, indicating uncertainty of market direction with a downward bias. Hence, the FBM KLCI is likely to continue to consolidate within a range of 1,700 to 1,718.
MACD continue to slide lower, and the histogram also extended downward after one day of upward contraction, indicating a continuation of the bearish momentum. RSI (14) hooked downward to 64.8, reflecting the mild loss in the index and the short term relative strength is weakening. Stochastic re-hook downward after crossing the slow stochastic line, indicating a resumption of the bearish strength. Readings from the indicators showed that the FBM KLCI is losing its momentum, and is likely to further consolidate.
The overall trend of the FBM KLCI remained up as the key index continue to stay above all the moving averages. However, the 5-day SMA is closing in on the 10-day SMA, indicating an impending short term correction is likely to take place. Judging from the diminishing volume, the market is likely to remain quiet today as Bursa Malaysia will be closed tomorrow, 1st May, for the Labour Day holiday, moreover, there's no new catalyst to excite the market on the countdown to the GE13 polling day which falls on Sunday 5th May.
Overnight, the Dow rose 106.20 points or +0.72% to close at 14,818.75. Today, the FBM KLCI is likely to trade within a range of 1,700 to 1,717.
This week's expected range: 1682 – 1736
Today’s expected range: 1700 – 1717
Resistance: 1711, 1714, 1717
Support: 1700, 1703, 1705