Market Pulse - 9Nov22 - Downside Largely Cushioned

The FBM KLCI ended marginally lower as investors traded cautiously prior to the US midterm elections, but inflow of foreign funds continued for the 3rd consecutive day. With the Wall Street continuing its recent gains ahead of the inflation data, we believe the market is expecting the CPI data to decline and the US Fed could pivot. However, our view is that the CPI data will remain elevated at least for the rest of 2022. Given the concerns over China’s ongoing zero-Covid policy to weigh on the economy, we believe investors will position themselves using the earnings season, as well as GE15 as the near-term catalysts.