The FBMKLCI fell 1.28pt to close at 1,772.94 yesterday. Meanwhile, Asian equities struggled to make headway, US stock futures fell and Treasuries held steady as traders assessed the prospects for President Donald Trump’s administration to advance its agenda. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose less than 0.1%, retreating from an advance of as much as 0.3%. The FBMKLCI’s top gainers were RHB Bank (+3.9%), Petronas Chemicals Group (+1.1%) and Petronas Gas (+1.1%), while the top losers were AMMB Holdings (-2.3%), Genting Malaysia (-2.0%) and IJM Corporation (-0.9%). In the broader market, losers outpaced gainers 454 to 415 with 365 counters unchanged. Turnover was 2.00b shares valued at RM1.97b. From a technical perspective, the FBMKLCI continued in a sideways movement following yesterday’s tight move. Despite the positive overflow from the overnight US market, the index closed below the opening price, creating a “small black body” candle and was unable to close above the “cloud”. For now, we expect short-term movement to be seen between 1,670 and 1,680 with the long-term outlook remaining bullish. Support and resistance levels are as follows:

• Support: 1,752,1,742
• Resistance: 1,787, 1,800

US stocks closed lower on Wednesday as investors grappled with a threat from President Donald Trump to shut down the government if funds are not secured to build a Mexico border wall. Losses in the consumer services, healthcare and industrials sectors led shares lower. At the close in NYSE, the DJIA lost 0.40%, while the S&P 500 index declined 0.35%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.30%. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1,632 to 1,443 and 150 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1,385 fell and 1,060 advanced, while 185 ended unchanged.

Source: UOB Kay Hian Research - 24 Aug 2017