Opening Daily Highlight
Mixed
Volatility beckons
Tue, 22-Oct-2024 07:34 am
by Research Team • Apex Research

  • Malaysia Market Review. The FBM KLCI closed flat as the Budget 2025 announcement did little to generate fresh interest among investors. Similarly, trading interest within the lowers remain muted, while the Property sector (-1.3%) underperformed among the mixed sectorial peers.

 

  • Global Markets Review. The US stock markets turned mostly lower with Dow as the biggest loser, weighed down by the rising 10-year treasury yields at 4.2%, shy of its 10-year all-time high of 5%. The European stock markets also retreated as investors awaited key corporate earnings and monitored elevated Middle East tensions, while Asia Pacific stock markets were mixed with traders awaiting China’s loan prime rate announcement.

      

  • Market Outlook. It is not surprising the local bourse shifted to the sidelines given the lack of new excitement following the announcement of Budget 2025. With muted response towards the better-than-expected advance reading of 3Q24 GDP growth, we reckon that downward pressure may take shape amid the renewed volatility, while investors search for fresh leads. The lower liners may also undergo consolidation in tandem with the weak sentiment form the main market. Over the interim, key focus lies onto the release of US home sales which will be release tonight. Moving forward, labor-intensive industry such as construction, plantation and manufacturing are likely to suffer from higher labour costs and reduced productivity following the Malaysia government decision to maintain the freeze on quota applications to hire migrant workers. For now, the number of foreign workers in the country was set by the economy ministry at 15% of the total workforce in the country, which is the second extension since 2023.

Sentiment: Neutral
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