The FBM KLCI closed higher with a flag formation breakout amid a resumption of buying support. However, Wall Street ended marginally lower following the FOMC meeting minutes, suggesting that the Fed may proceed carefully on the interest rate directions and be in a “wait-and-see” mode. Also, profit-taking activities emerged post-market on Nvidia following the release of results; earnings came in above estimates and we expect the profit-taking actions could spill over towards stocks on the local front. Nevertheless, in view of the growing Malaysia GDP by 3.3% in 3Q23, released last week, we expect traders to focus their attention on the upcoming reporting season. On the commodity markets, the Brent oil prices traded above USD82/bbl following the FOMC meeting minutes. 

Sector focus: As some of the tech giants on Wall Street were taking a pause on the uptrend move, we expect profit-taking activities to emerge in the Technology sector on the local front. Meanwhile, we noticed the strong set of results as anticipated from Teo Seng, which could provide a bullish tone to the rest of the poultry stocks. Besides, we like the Utilities, Property, Building Material, Construction, and Transportation & Logistics sectors amid the ongoing reporting season.