Daily Market Reports Issued By Rakuten Trade Research : Page 3

Wall Street slumped further amid a mud slinging contest between Trump and Canada over the latest tariffs of which both agreed to suspend temporarily.
However, trading on US equities remains choppy on fresh recessionary concerns.
Meanwhile, the US 10-year yield edged higher at 4.282%.
Over in Hong Kong, the HSI closed flat despite a poor opening as bargain hunters returned in the afternoon session.
Early sentiment was spooked by recessionary fears in the US but soon dissipated as funds mopped up shares following Citigroup downgrades on US equities.
Back home, the FBM KLCI maintained its lacklustre performance as it closed just above the 1,520 level.
Foreign funds remain net sellers as we believe many are selling down their SEA region holdings as a knee jerk reaction and move over to Hong Kong for now.
We are certainly buyers of local shares at current levels, trending at a cheap 14x market PER hence expect some bargain hunting activities to emerge and the index to hover within the 1,515-1,530 range today.

Wall Street declined steeply as concerns of a weakening US economy gathers momentum further fuelled by hawkish comments from Trump of a transitional period for the US over the weekend.
As a result, the chance of more rate cuts may be in the offing to 3 times this year as the US 10-year yield slid to 4.219%.
In Hong Kong, the HSI slipped to below 24,000 level after China reported a decline in consumer price for February hence stoking fears of a potential deflation.
On the home front, our expectations of a swift rebound did not happen.
Instead, the index was further pressured by incessant selling to end around the 1,535 mark or a fresh YTD low, further aggravated by the broad-based regional weaknesses.
Nonetheless, we are adamant that a quick rebound should occur anytime soon and expect the index to hover within the 1,535-1,550 range today.

Wall Street ended on a positive note despite a weak start as all 3 major indices experienced an afternoon rally amid a volatile session.
Traders largely ignored the weaker job market for February as unemployment ticked higher at 4.1% from 4% before.
In view of the softening US economy, the US 10-year yield edged higher at 4.305%.
Over in Hong Kong, the HSI declined following a solid performance during the week.
Nonetheless, sentiment remains positive as confidence was buoyed from the outcome of the recent NPC meeting.
Back home, the FBM KLCI slumped to a YTD low at below the 1,550 level in line with the broad-based regional weaknesses.
However, we expect a swift rebound thus expecting the index to hover between the 1,550-1,565 range today.
Fundamentally, the local bourse remains sound as recent earnings result scorecard illustrates that 2025 growth is tagged at 9.2% after a 16.4% growth in 2024.

Wall Street slumped again despite the recent 1-month tariff reprieve for both Canada and Mexico as traders are now paying attention on the monthly layoff data for February 2025 which is the highest since July 2020.
There are rising concerns that the ongoing mass layoffs on Government staff will have negative impacts on the US economy.
Meanwhile, the US 10-year yield remained flat at 4.28%.
Over in Hong Kong, the HSI maintained its uptrend to close at a 3-year high to almost the 24,400 mark buoyed by China’s stimulus package during the National People’s Congress (NPC) underscore by the projected 5% GDP growth this year.
Therefore, many are expecting more easing measures to be announced by China in due course.
Back home, the FBM KLCI declined as sellers emerged, which we see as disappointing.
As a result, we believe the local bourse would continue to trend within a narrow range and hover between the 1,555-1,570 range today.

Wall Street staged a recovery rally after Trump allowed a 1-month tariff reprieve for automakers which many hopes will extend to other industries.
Nonetheless, uncertainties remain coupled with potential inflationary pressure that saw the US 10-year yield higher at 4.28%.
In Hong Kong, the HSI rebounded to almost the 23,600 mark led by CK Hutchinson following its proposed disposal of assets worth USD23bn near the Panama Canal.
Meanwhile, China’s Premier Li Qiang during the opening of the National People’s Congress alluded to another 5% growth for China’s GDP this year plus more fiscal spending.
On the home front, the FBM KLCI closed broadly higher as bargain hunters returned mopping up shares that were trashed a day before.
The announcement of “a first of its kind” collaboration with Arm Holdings plc to fast-track Malaysia’s Tech sector up the value chain may be a catalyst for the sector as this will benefit existing players significantly.
Judging from the positive regional performance, we believe the flight of foreign funds may have started thus expecting the index to hover within the 1,565-1,575 range today.

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