Bursa Malaysia: KLCI Technical Analysis & Market Forecast

Market Review for KLCI: The FBM KLCI index lost 10.18 points or 0.62% on Monday. The Finance Index fell 0.46% to 13951.92 points, the Properties Index dropped 1.15% to 1162.27 points and the Plantation Index down 0.40% to 7322.99 points. The market traded within a range of 10.16 points within a high of 1635.28 and a low of 1625.12 during the session.

The KLCI closed 10.18 points lower to 1629.96 points amid losses in Wall Street on last Friday as oil prices continued to slide and investors remained cautious over the potential interest rate hike by Federal Reserve.

Market forecast for KLCI:

The KLCI index is expected to trade with bearish sentiments in coming trading session on the back of the cautious investors sentiment over the upcoming FED meeting on interest rate decision. On technical ground the KLCI index test the level of 1600 in near term.

KLCI COUNTER SPECIFIC NEWS:

• Petronas Dagangan Bhd is divesting its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) businesses in Vietnam as part of its portfolio rationalisation strategy.
• Taliworks Corp Bhd, which has a tie-up with the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to acquire and operate concession-based asset, has set it sights on a few more targets locally and abroad.
• Dagang NeXchange Bhd (DNeX) expects to double its full-year revenue in 2016, backed by its oil and gas ventures. By 2020, energy is expected to be a dominant driver for the company, whose mainstay now remains trade facilitation and e-commerce.
• Berjaya Food Bhd, the country’s largest-listed food and beverage (F&B) company by market capitalisation, will tread cautiously when it comes to acquisitions.
• GD Express Carrier Bhd (GDex), riding on the e-commerce wave, will pursue inorganic growth via acquisitions and seek partnerships with other courier companies to expand into new markets in the Asean region, as it aims to achieve 24% to 25% net profit growth this financial year ending June 30, 2016.
• AirAsia Group has won the 'World's Leading Low-Cost Airline' title for the third consecutive year at this year's World Travel Awards Grand Final 2015 held in Morocco.

GLOBAL FACTORS AND WORLD INDICES:

• Asian stocks fell on Monday and China's yuan hit fresh 4-1/2 year lows as plunging oil prices added to investors' nervousness about riskier assets ahead of an expected US rate rise by the Federal Reserve later in the week.
• Shanghai stocks jumped more than 2 per cent on Monday in their best session in a month, as stronger-than-expected November factory activity lifted sentiment without dashing hopes of fresh stimulus.
• Tokyo stocks tumbled on Monday, extending a global equities sell-off ahead of this week's hotly anticipated Federal Reserve policy meeting.The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 1.80 per cent, or 347.06 points, to 18,883.42 by the close, after losing more than three percent in earlier trading.
• Australian shares came within a whisker of their 2015 trough on Monday, in line with a rout in the region, as falling oil prices and worries that U.S. interest rates will be hiked this week unsettled the market.The S&P/ASX 200 index shed 2.01 per cent, or 100.85 points, to finish at 4,928.60.
• Hong Kong's benchmark stock index fell for the eighth straight session to a more than 2-month low on Monday.The Hang Seng index fell 0.7 per cent, to 21,309.85, the lowest close since Sept 30. But the China Enterprises Index , which tracks Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong, gained 0.1 per cent, to 9,315.91 points.
• European shares opened higher on Monday as a sell-off triggered by China concerns and tumbling oil prices ran out of steam, with wind turbine makers Vestas Wind and Nordex among the leading gainers following a landmark climate deal.The pan-European FTSE Eurofirst index was up 0.7 per cent by 0825 GMT, after falling more than 2 per cent on Friday.
• China's yuan hit a fresh 4-1/2-year low to the dollar on Monday, after the central bank said it had begun publishing a yuan exchange rate weighted against a basket of currencies, a move that will eventually loosen the currency's link to the greenback.
• Energy-linked firms took another battering in Asia on Monday morning, leading losses on regional markets as oil prices sank to fresh seven-year lows, with warnings of further falls to come for the commodity.However, while companies that rely on fossil fuels to drive profits were taking a hit, he weekend climate deal was unlikely to have had a major impact on their shares for now.
• Gold ticked up on Monday, but was under pressure from a Federal Reserve policy meeting this week when the US central bank is expected to raise interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade.In its last policy meeting of the year on Dec. 15-16, the Fed is seen raising rates by a quarter of a per centage point.