Blue Chips Correct while Oil & Gas Stocks Shine

BUY Muhibbah & TH Heavy

 

Banks  led  blue  chips  lower  for  extended  correction  Wednesday,  dampened  by  overbought
conditions  and  uncertainties  over  the  US  Federal  Reserve’s  stimulus  bias  and  government budget  talks,  but  selective  rotational  buying  interest  on  oil  &  gas  stocks  continued  to highlight. The KLCI lost 8.42points to close at 1,784.06, off an early high of 1,791.18 and low of 1,783.15, as losers beat gainers 420 to 359 on higher trade totaling 2.21bn shares worth RM2.05bn.

Better Support at 1,772/1,768
The  daily  stochastics  sell  signal  implies  further  correction  potential  for  the  index,  likely towards 1,772, the 23.6% Fibonacci Retracement (FR) level of the 7/2/13 low of 1,597 to the  all-time  high  of  1,826,  and  next  at  1,768,  the  50  and  100-day  moving  average  levels, before stabilizing. A breakdown could see the previous 1,747-1,753 gap-up of 10 Sept being tested for support. Immediate resistance remains atlast Friday’s high of 1,805, with stronger hurdles at the July pivot high of 1,811, and subsequently the all-time high of 1,826.

 

above: Muhibbah Engineering Daily Chart

BUY Muhibbah & TH Heavy
On  the  other  hand,  Muhibbah  should  extend  gains  on  bullish  technical  momentum,  with  a
decisive breakout above RM2.72 (25/7/13 peak) to target RM3.00, RM3.17 (123.6%FP) and RM3.45 (138.2%FP) ahead, while key retracement supports are at RM2.26 (23.6%FR) and RM1.99  (38.2%FR),  reinforced  by  the  lower  Bollinger band.  Likewise,  TH  Heavy  should challenge 96.5sen (19/7/13 peak) for breakout to target RM1.09, RM1.17 and RM1.24 going forward, while important chart supports are at 84sen (23.6%FR) and 76sen (38.2%FR).

Asia Remain Subdued on Budget Jittery
Asian shares turned in a lackluster performance on Wednesday, as concerns about a possible
U.S. government shutdown and uncertainty about the Federal Reserve's policy outlook made investors hesitant to push out of recent ranges. OnWall Street on Tuesday, U.S. stocks mostly ended lower, extending their slide to a fourth session, as fears are growing in Washington that  political  dysfunction  might  lead  to  a  default  next  month  if  lawmakers  don't  authorize more  borrowing.  Japan's  Nikkei  share  average  eased  for  a  second  day  on  Wednesday morning on the back of weakness in Wall Street, butthe pullback was contained by a sharp jump in Tokyo Electron Ltd shares on news of a $7 billion-plus takeover of the tech company by Applied Materials Inc.

 

However,  stocks  in  Sydney  were  a  surprising  standout  on  Wednesday,  outperforming  the rest of the region despite a fourth-straight session of losses on Wall Street. The S&P ASX 200 rose  0.9%,  catching  traders  off  guard  as  many  had  predicted  cautious  trade.  High-end retailer  David  Jones  Ltd  was  the  biggest  gainer  on  the  ASX,  jumping  6%  following  the company's  full-year  earnings  report.  Meanwhile,  Hong  Kong  shares  inched  higher  on Wednesday, as investors welcomed official confirmation of the Sept. 29 launch of Shanghai's free  trade  zone,  seen  as  a  test-bed  for  financial  reforms.  The  Shanghai  city  government declined to comment further on the free trade zone  at its regularly-scheduled weekly press conference on Wednesday morning, saying details "will be revealed at a relevant time”. The Hong  Kong  Index  inched  up  by  30.59  points  or  0.13%  to  23,209.63  while  the  Singapore’s
Straits Times Index fell 3.17 points, or 0.10% to 3,208.58.

Wall Street Extend Losing Streak on Budget Impasse
U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday and the S&P 500 put in a fifth day of losses, its longest losing streak  since  the end  of  2012,  on  jitters  funding  for  the  federal  government  would  run  out
and  after  a  drop  in  shares  of  Wal-Mart  Stores.  Investors  worried  about  two  looming Washington  deadlines,  before  Oct.  1  Congress  needs  to  pass  stop-gap  funding  for  federal agencies and by Oct. 17 it must raise the federal borrowing limit to avoid a debt default by
the  United  States.  The  Senate  took  up  the  funding  measure  after  Tea-Party-backed Republican  Senator  Ted  Cruz  held  the  bill  up  with  a 21-hour-long  attack  against “Obamacare”. A government shutdown could begin withthe new fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1 unless funds are authorized.

Meanwhile, shares of Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, added to early afternoon losses on  the  Dow  and  S&P  500  after  a  report  by  Bloomberg  News  that  Wal-Mart  was  cutting orders to its suppliers for this quarter and next.  The stock retraced some of its losses after the  company  called  the  report  inaccurate  and  ended  down  1.5%  at  $74.65,  among  the biggest drags on the S&P 500 and Dow. However, a pair of better-than-expected economic reports  helped  stem  losses.  Durable-goods  orders  for  August  edged  up  0.1%  from  July, despite expectations of a 0.6% drop. Sales of new homes rebounded by more than forecast in August,  rising  7.9%,  while  economists  expected  a  6.6%  increase.  In  corporate  news,  J.C. Penny shares slumped, extending a string of losses  that has sent the company's stock to its lowest price since late 2000. Goldman Sachs Group fixed-income analysts said in a note late Tuesday that weakness in the retailer's business could challenge its liquidity levels. The  Dow  Jones  Industrial  Average  eased  61.33  points,  or  0.40%  to  15,273.26  while  the Standard  &  Poor's  500 Index  lost  4.65  points  or  0.27%  to  1,692.77.  The  technology-heavy Nasdaq  Composite Index  inched  slid  7.15  points,  or  0.19%  to  3,761.09,  while  the financial
index rose 1.43 points, or 0.53% to 271.32.

 

by TA Securities