KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI dipped slightly as the profit-taking continued on the local bourse ahead of the release of Malaysia's fourth-quarter gross domestic product report.
Investor sentiment is expected to be soft as the rout on Wall Street resumed yesterday amid fears the tech industry could be derailed by developments in the AI space.
Adding to that was a resilient US labour market that has reduced hopes for a near-term US Federal Reserve rate cut.
The FBM KLCI dropped 2.96 points to 1,747.89 at Friday's open, which suggests the index could end the week on rangebound trading.
According to Apex Research, domestic attention will be on Malaysia's 4Q economic growth print, while externally, market will closely monitor the US core CPI release for clearer signals on the monetary policy path.
"Meanwhile, sustained foreign inflows and continued rotation into Asian markets should help cushion weakness, supporting large-cap defensives and earnings-visible names, particularly within financials, utilities and selective technology stocks," said the research firm in its market outlook.
Meanwhile, TA Securities is expecting the market to consolidate with a downward bias ahead of the weekend,a as investors lock-in profits ahead of the upcoming Chinese New Year holidays.
"Immediate support stays at the 1,700 psychological level, with stronger support coming from the September 2016 low (1,645), followed by the 76.4%FR (1,610). Immediate resistance is maintained at the 138.2%FP (1,804), with next upside hurdle coming at the 150%FP (1,841), followed by tougher resistance at the 161.8%FP
(1,879)," it said in its technical reading.
On the blue-chip index, Maxis rose seven sne to RM3.90, buoyed by a positive earnings results.
Bank shares were mixed with Maybank falling two sen to RM12.12, CIMB dipping one sne to RM8.52 and AmBank climbing eight sen to RM6.57.
Nestle slipped back 50 sen to RM110.10.
On the actives list, Main Market debutant Hock Soon slipped five sen to 55 sen after 29.68 million shares traded. Malaysian Aviation Group rose five sen to 17 sen and VS Industry fell 1.5 sen to 39 sen.
