Consolidate Pending Budget 2025

The local blue-chip benchmark gained late Tuesday, lifted by banks and selected property stocks, on hopes for positive measures from Budget 2025 to stimulate the domestic property market. The FBM KLCI added 5.43 points to close at 1,641.97, off an early low of 1,636.89 and high of 1,643.64, but losers edged gainers 558 to 509 on modest turnover of 2.87bn shares worth RM2.78bn.

Resistance at 1,660/1675; Support at 1,625/1,620

The broader market should extend consolidation pending the tabling of Budget 2025 this Friday, with selective sectors anticipated to be impacted by the proposals to attract trading plays. Immediate index resistance remains at 1,660, followed by the recent highs of 1,675 and 1,684, and then 1,695, the Dec 2020 high, as tougher resistance levels. Immediate support will be the recent correction low of 1,625, with 1,620 and then 1,600 acting as stronger supports.

Bargain SKP Resources & VSI

SKP Resources need to increase breakout momentum above the 50%FR (RM1.12) to boost upside potential towards the 38.2%FR (RM1.23) and 23.6%FR (RM1.38) ahead, with the 200- day ma (97sen) to limit downside risk. VSI requires breakout from consolidation to enhance upside momentum towards the 61.8%FR (RM1.10), with next hurdle from the 76.4%FR (RM1.19), while the 200-day ma (96sen) and 38.2%FR (94sen) cushion downside.

China Stocks Fall on Disappointing Trade Data

China stocks fell Tuesday even as other Asian markets rose following gains on Wall Street that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 reach new record highs. Mainland China’s CSI 300 dropped 2.66% to end at 3,855.99, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 3.67% to end at 20,318.79. China had posted disappointing September trade data after markets closed Monday, with exports rising 2.4% from a year ago and imports adding 0.3%, both sharply missing expectations. Revised trade data out of South Korea showed trade surplus at USD6.7 billion in September — same as preliminary data — up from USD3.7 billion in August. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.39% to end at 2,633.45, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.77% to close at 39,910.55. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.79% to end trading at 8,318.4.

Wall Street Ends Lower as Traders Parse Corporate Earnings

Wall Street's major stock indexes closed lower overnight, with the technology-heavy Nasdaq leading declines as traders sifted through the latest corporate earnings reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.75% to end at 42,740.42. The S&P 500 slipped 0.76% to end at 5,815.26, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.01% to 18,315.59. Chip stocks lost ground broadly after the results of chip-equipment-maker ASML Holdings showed downbeat expectations for 2025 sales. Nvidia shares fell in tandem, dropping around 5% to slip back from their freshly minted high. A steep drop by shares of UnitedHealth also weighed on the Dow after the company reported third quarter results that beat expectations but lowered the top end of its full-year earnings guidance.

Shares in Walgreens Boots Alliance finished the day up around 15% on the heels of its plan to shut 1,200 stores over three years, as the pharmacy chain pursues a turnaround. So far, about 40 S&P 500 companies have reported third-quarter results. Of those, 80% have beaten analyst expectations, per FactSet. The energy industry index was also under pressure as crude prices fell on weaker demand expectations after a media report suggested Israel would not strike Iranian oil targets.

Source: TA Research - 16 Oct 2024