KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI found its support on Wednesday despite a sharply lower closing on Wall Street, which accelerated the selling pressure in global markets.
The benchmark index slipped 0.62 points to 1,613.44 as it opened for trading, but held firm to the 50-day simple moving average in a bid to find support after the previous day's sell-off.
There has been a decline in regional markets as investors dumped equities amid fears the AI rally could be overstretched, even traders pared bets the US Federal Reserve would cut interest rates at its December meeting.
At the time of writing, CME FedWatch pins the likelihood of a quarter-percentage point reduction in the US Federal lending rate to 48.9%, slightly below the 51.1% odds of no change to the rate.
On the local market, TA Securities said stocks are expected to consolidate with a downward bias amid a lack of fresh domestic catalysts and diminishing prospects of an interest rate cut by the Fed next month.
"Immediate support is set at the 61.8%FR (1,564), with stronger supports seen at the 50%FR (1,527) followed by the 38.2%FR (1,490). Immediate resistance is kept at the December 2024 high of 1,644, with the highs of 1,684, and 1,695 as
tougher upside hurdles," it said in a note.
Malacca Securities said the FBM KLCI is expected to trade on a weaker note following Wall Street's negative overnight performance, pending the release of Nvidia's results.
"However, we continue to favour MI Technovation, which is supported by its strong 3Q25 earnings and growing exposure to high-growth semiconductor segments like advanced packaging, HPC, and automotive power modules," it said in a note.
"Meanwhile, following the gap-up move by Sarawak Oil Palm), we think traders may also consider Johor Plantations Group, which is also approaching a potential breakout zone with sustained buying interests in the plantation sector following the rebound in CPO.
"Lastly, investors can look into the IPO of Foodie Media Bhd
(Malacca Securities' target price: 47 sen), as applications are closing today."
On Bursa Malaysia, the most actively traded counter was Aquaria KLCC operator Aquawalk, which made its debut on the ACE Market after raising RM114.3mil from its initial public offering.
The share rose two sen to 33 sen with 124.47 million shares traded.
