Sideways Trend to Persist Pending Catalyst

The local benchmark index ended slightly higher on Monday, buoyed by bargain hunting interest in the plantation sector after a five-day rally in crude palm oil prices. The FBM KLCI rose 1.19 points to close at 1,595.48, off an early high of 1,603.94 and low of 1,593.37, but losers beat gainers 549 to 497 on total turnover of 2.83bn shares worth RM2.37bn.

Support at 1,588/1,565; Resistance at 1,629/1,648

The sideways trend on the local market should prevail pending fresh domestic catalysts to lift stocks from their current consolidation. Immediate index support stays at 1,588, the 38.2%FR of the 1,529 low (6 Aug) to 1,684 high (29 Aug) rally, with stronger key supports at 1,565, the 23.6%FR level, and then 1,550. Immediate resistance remains at 1,629, next 1,648, followed by the September peak of 1,675.

Bargain Globetronics & Unisem

Globetronics looks attractive to bargain on dips for recovery to the 138.2%FP (65sen), with a confirmed breakout to target the 123.6%FP (77sen) and 100%FP (97sen) ahead, while key supports are at the 161.8%FP (45sen) and 176.4%FP (33sen). Any further weakness on Unisem towards the 31/10/23 low (RM2.81) should attract bargain hunters looking for rebound upside to the upper Bollinger band (RM3.10), with next major resistance coming from the 23.6%FR (RM3.25) and the 38.2%FR (RM3.47), going forward.

Asian Markets Mostly Higher as Investors Await Key Data

Asian markets traded mostly higher on Monday as the region kick-started a data-heavy week, with investors focused on economic readings from several countries, including Japan, South Korea and China. Over the weekend, China released its official purchasing managers’ index reading for November. Manufacturing PMI came in at 50.3 — its highest level since April — beating the 50.2 expected by economists polled by Reuters. Manufacturing PMI came in at 50.1 in October. China’s non-manufacturing PMI slipped to 50.0 from 50.2 in the previous month, while composite PMI held steady at 50.8. Australia’s retail sales rose 3.4% in October, its fastest year-on-year rise since May 2023.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded up 0.14%, ending at a record closing high of 8,447.9. South Korea’s markets were the outlier on Monday, after preliminary trade data revealed exports grew at their slowest pace since September 2023 over the weekend. Exports grew 1.4% year on year in November, missing expectations of a 2.8% growth from economists polled by Reuters and a sharp decline from the 4.6% rise in October. The Kospi slipped marginally to 2,454.48, while Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was up 0.8% and closed at 38,513.02. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.65% to 19,550.29, while mainland China’s CSI 300 was up 0.79% to close at 3,947.63.

Key US Indices Close at Records to Kick Off December Trading

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose to close at new records overnight to begin December trading as the indexes added to November’s hefty gains. The S&P 500 added 0.24% to close at 6,047.15. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.97% and ended at 19,403.95. Both indexes touched fresh all-time intraday highs and closed at records. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.29%, or 128.65 points, closing at 44,782.00. The blue-chip index briefly topped the 45,000 level during the day, a key threshold it hit a few times last week.

November marked the best month of 2024 for both the Dow and S&P 500, with the two gaining 7.5% and 5.7%, respectively, for the period. Most of the gains came in a postelection rally after Trump emerged as the winner of the presidential race. Both indexes notched closing highs in last Friday’s shortened trading session. Small-cap stocks were also a winner in November as investors saw the group benefiting from Trump’s potential tax cuts. The Russell 2000 surged more than 10% in the month, also notching its biggest monthly gain of the year.

Source: TA Research - 3 Dec 2024