Stocks on Bursa Malaysia closed marginally lower yesterday in the absence of interest in the holiday-shortened week. The FBM KLCI edged lower by 0.5 of a point or -0.03% to end at 1,784.64 after moving between 1,779.47 and 1,784.64 throughout the day. Gainers led losers by 410 to 340, with 295 counters unchanged. Total turnover eased to 1.279 billion shares worth RM1.64 billion from 1.589 billion shares worth RM1.56 billion on Monday.
Taking cue from a weak performance of the Dow overnight, the FBM KLCI opened 4.65 points lower at 1,780.49 and slipped lower to the intra-day low of 1,779.47 at late morning. The key index rebounded from there and moved higher gradually for the rest of the day to close at the highest point of the day, and is just half a point lower from previous day's close. Chart-wise, the FBM KLCI formed a bullish white candlestick which indicates buying support, and hence, the FBM KLCI is likely to continue to consolidate today.
MACD continued to slide lower but its histogram contracted upward, indicating a reduction in the bearish downward momentum. RSI (14) hooked downward marginally to 50.3 from 50.6, indicating a state of consolidation in the neutral zone. Stochastic continued to climb higher to 38.7 from 33.6, and is above the slow stochastic line, indicating continued improvement in the market strength and the short term up cycle. Readings from the indicators showed that the FBM KLCI is in a state of consolidation with a mild upward bias.
The immediate short term trend of the FBM KLCI is sideways range -bound as the key index is now above the 5, 30 and 60-day SMA, but is still below the 10, 15 and 20-day SMA. Nevertheless, the long term uptrend remained intact. As today has only half a day of trading before the Hari Raya Aidilfitri holiday which starts tomorrow, the Bursa market is expected to be quiet in a consolidation mode. We would like to wish all muslim readers "Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri" and the non-muslim a happy holiday.
Overnight, the Dow fell 93.39 points or -0.60% to close at 15,518.74. Today, the FBM KLCI is likely to trade within a range of 1,776 to 1,789.
This week's expected range: 1744 – 1827
Today’s expected range: 1776 – 1789
Resistance: 1786, 1788, 1789
Support: 1776, 1777, 1781