The consumer products sector may pick up in anticipation of better retail sales data for December 2021 following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, Malacca Securities said in a note.
Meanwhile, it said that the tourism-related and recovery theme sectors may garner some trading interest after the National Recovery Council (NRC) agreed to fully reopen Malaysia’s international borders in March 2022 without compulsory quarantine.
Following the gains on Wall Street overnight, the stockbroking house said that it reckons that recovery may resume on a tepid manner as gains will be capped by the lack of fresh local leads.
On a brighter note, Malacca Securities said that the unemployment rate continues to demonstrate improvement; falling to 4.2% in December 2021, where it highlights that the economic recovery is largely on track. Meanwhile, it said that the upcoming batch of corporate earnings will be followed closely that may provide signs of the earnings recovery as the majority of the states moved into the Phase of 4 National Recovery Plan in 4Q21.
Reviewing yesterday’s Bursa’s performance, It said that the FBM KLCI (-0.04%) erased all its intraday gains to close marginally lower as quick profit-taking sets in for gloves heavyweights yesterday.
The stockbroking firm said that the lower liners and the broader market, however, ended mixed, with the healthcare sector (- 1.2%) underperforming significantly following the release of HARTA’s result.
