The FBMKLCI declined 1.62pt (-0.097%) to close at 1,664.89 last Friday. Meanwhile, Asian stocks fluctuated within narrow ranges as investors awaited US President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. The MSCI AC Asia Pacific Index gained 0.1%, paring its first weekly decline in 2017.The FBMKLCI’s top gainers were Westports Holdings (+0.71%), Telekom Malaysia (+0.50%) and Axiata Group (+0.43%) while the top losers were Hap Seng Consolidated (-1.7%), British American Tobacco (-1.5%) and IJM Corporation (-1.5%). In the broader market, losers outpaced gainers 428 to 300 with 404 counters unchanged. Turnover was 1.58b shares valued at RM1.59b. From a technical perspective, the FBMKLCI is expected to continue consolidating in the near term amid the formation of a bearish candlestick last Friday. This is further reinforced by the downtick in the RSI, which suggests that buying momentum would continue to ease over the next few days. But as such, we expect the index to resume its uptrend once the current consolidation phase ends. Support and resistance levels are maintained as follows:

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

On Friday, US stocks closed higher as the 45th president of the US was sworn in. The DJIA gained 0.48% to settle at 19,827.25 and the S&P500 edged higher by 0.34%, to close at 2,271.31. The NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.28% to settle at 5,555.33. In Donald Trump's inauguration speech, the new president reiterated his protectionist stance but did not offer details on how he would go about pursuing his agenda. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 2,067 to 1,128 and 45 ended unchanged. On the Nasdaq SE, 1,507 rose and 991 declined, while 127 ended unchanged.

Source: UOB Kay Hian Research - 23 Jan 2017