The FBM KLCI inched lower after hovering mostly in the red, with selling pressure seen in other sectors outweighing gains in the banking heavyweights. The rebound attempt on Wall Street overnight may trigger the regional markets to recover some grounds. Meanwhile, investors are awaiting the consumer confidence data and Chicago PMI to gauge the US Fed’s tone in interest rate direction. We reckon cautious sentiment will prevail on the local front with foreign investors turning net sellers, but bargain hunting may be noticed.

The FBM KLCI logged marginal losses after hovering mostly in the negative territory, taking cue from the negative biased regional markets. Following a sharp selldown on Wall Street in the previous week, we reckon the regional markets and the local bourse may stay rocky while investors could be looking out for fresh catalysts. Meanwhile, we believe the downside risk could be limited following the revised Budget 2023 as investors may trade in sectors that will benefit from it.

Intensified selling pressure dragged the FBM KLCI into the negative territory yesterday, taking cues from the regional losses. While the Wall Street staged a rebound overnight signalled the emergence of the positive sentiment, volatility might not abate over the near term without slowing down the interest rate upcycle. Back home, the re-tabling of Malaysia Budget 2023 will be taking the centre stage and investors may also keep an eye on Malaysia’s inflation rate today.

The FBM KLCI retreated from a rebound-attempt yesterday, taking cue from the bearish regional markets following the negative performance on Wall Street. As broad-based selldown persisted on Wall Street, investors may remain cautious while eyeing the inflation data for more clues on the interest rate directions going forward. On the local front, all eyes shall be on the re-tabling of Budget 2023 tomorrow as well as Malaysia’s inflation rate.

The FBM KLCI ended marginally higher as the key index reversed earlier rally into the afternoon session amidst mixed regional market. Following the heavy plunge on Wall Street overnight, we believe investors may stay on the sidelines as concerns over the interest rate hikes expectation continues to pressure the market sentiment. Nevertheless, the US FOMC meeting minutes will remain in focus and should provide more clues going forward.

The FBM KLCI was in the midst of a pullback, declining for the third session as investors were staying on the sidelines ahead of the re-tabling of Budget 2023. Also, investors may continue to monitor the geopolitical tensions as the European Union aims to adopt a new package of sanctions against Russia this week, as well as the US President Biden’s visit to Ukraine. On the local front, earnings reports and the Budget 2023 re-tabling on Friday will remain as the key focus while investors monitor for a series of global economic data.

The FBM KLCI consolidated further last Friday amidst bearish sentiment across the regional markets. However, we believe bargain hunting activities may emerge on the local bourse after a broad-based selldown ahead of the re-tabling of Budget 2023, but the global sentiment could weighed further by renewed concerns over expectations of larger interest rate hikes going forward. This week, investors may keep an eye on the US FOMC minutes, US GDP growth rate (second estimates), Eurozone’s inflation rate, Malaysia’s inflation rate, as well as the re-tabling of Budget 2023.

The FBM KLCI slipped into the negative territory after midday break amidst quick profit-taking activities following a four-day rally. As investors parsed through the stronger-than-expected inflation report, global sentiment has again turned slightly weaker in the anticipation of a hawkish tone from the Fed moving forward. While bargain hunting activities may occur amid the reporting season, we believe cautious sentiment on the global front may capped the buying momentum on the local bourse.