The FBMKLCI rose 8.06pt to close at 1,745.20 on the back of rejuvenated buying interest, particularly in blue chip counters last Friday. Meanwhile, emerging markets headed toward the best week in eight months even as the global equities rally spurred by the Federal Reserve’s outlook lost momentum. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index retreated 0.2%. The FBMKLCI’s top gainers were Axiata Group (+3.3%), Westports Holdings (+2.6%) and KLCC Property Holdings (+2.5%) while the top losers were Hap Seng Consolidated (-1.98%), IHH Healthcare (-1.5%), and MISC (-1.5%). In the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 591 to 368 with 359 counters unchanged. Turnover was 4.98b shares valued at RM5.04b. In line with our earlier expectation, the FBMKLCI bucked regional sentiments and rose higher last Friday, culminating in a negative bias which has been lurking over the index in the past few days. The index managed to penetrate the immediate resistance level of 1,745 with higher trading volume last Friday. This positive movement is supported by a bullish crossover in MACD and an uptick in RSI that suggest buying pressure has started to gain traction, which could lead to further upside in the near term. We maintain our support and resistance levels as follows:

• Support: 1,700,1,690
• Resistance: 1,745, 1,760

US equities closed modestly lower on Friday, despite the release of mostly upbeat US economic data, as manufacturing output and consumer sentiment data topped expectations while industrial production slowed in February. The DJIA fell 0.1% to settle at 20,914.62 and the S&P500 edged lower by 0.13%, to 2,378.25. The NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.24pt to settle at 5,901.00. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 1,934 to 1,304 and 39 ended unchanged. On the Nasdaq SE, 1463 rose and 1,053 declined, while 109 ended unchanged.

Source: UOB Kay Hian Research - 20 Mar 2017