The FBMKLCI rose marginally by 1.99pt (+0.12%) and closed at 1,665.02 yesterday. Meanwhile, Asian stocks gained, led by a surge in energy companies after oil climbed above US$52 per barrel. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.3%. The FBMKLCI’s top gainers were CIMB Group Holdings (+1.7%), Astro Malaysia Holdings (+1.5%) and Petronas Gas (+1.1%) while the top losers were IHH Healthcare (-1.4%), Westports Holdings (-1.4%) and Digi.Com (-1.2%). In the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 431 to 366 with 370 counters unchanged. Turnover was 1.88b shares valued at RM1.64b. From a technical viewpoint, nothing much changed in yesterday’s tight movement as we had expected the index to continue consolidating within our prescribed range of 1,650 to 1,680 while violation of either band would, in our view, lead to a follow-through. For now, investors remain cautious given the uncertain sentiments across the globe. Support and resistance levels are as follows:

• Support: 1,647,1,630
• Resistance: 1,680,1,700

US stocks closed mixed on Wednesday as gains in financials offset weakness in telecommunications shares. The DJIA bucked the trend to close at its lowest in 2017. The DJIA lost 0.1% to settle at 19,804.72 and the S&P500 edged higher by 0.2% to 2,271.89. The NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.3% to settle at 5,555.65. Treasury yields rose, and the yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 2.41% from 2.33% late Tuesday. Consumer prices last month were 2.1% higher yoy. Economists say inflation rate is still relatively modest but it is a clear acceleration from the very low levels of the last four years. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 1,706 to 1,497 and 40 ended unchanged. On the Nasdaq SE, 1,422 rose and 1,095 declined, while 108 ended unchanged.

Source: UOB Kay Hian Research - 19 Jan 2017