Market Pulse - Downward Pressure Persists

The sentiment on the local stock market remained bearish as another broad-based selloff pushed the FBM KLCI into the negative territory amid persisted worries over the ongoing tension between Russia and Ukraine. Although there might be mild bargain hunting activities in selected commodity sectors, we expect overall gains are likely to be short-lived, taking cue from the overnight Wall Street performance. Do note that investors will be monitoring the elevated commodity prices that may translate to significant inflation and input costs to various industries.