KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 19): Inter-Pacific Research Sdn Bhd said with the toppish conditions still prevailing, the FBM KLCI’s consolidation spell is likely to continue over the near-term.

In its daily bulletin today, the research said it sees profit taking activities potentially accelerating in tandem with the overnight weakness on Wall Street as concerns over the escalating Covid-19 cases globally taking center stage again, even as the vaccines may prove to be effective in trials as mass inoculation is still some 6-8 months away.

“ We also note that a pullback will be healthy to allow some of the recent gains to be absorbed, albeit we do not think that the pullback will be sharp as there remains some pockets of support.

“Therefore, we continue to see the 1,600-points level serving as the immediate support, followed by the 1,587 level.

“The resistances, meanwhile, are at 1,611 – the year’s high, and at 1,621 points respectively,” it said.

Inter-Pacific said the consolidation among the lower liners and broader market shares is likely to continue as the combination of fewer new leads and toppish conditions could leave these stocks to drift for longer.

“As it is, market players will be awaiting for more corporate results to be released over the next two weeks to judge the performance of these stocks going forward, particularly as the challenging business environment may persist into 1Q2021 due to the unabated new infection rates,” it said.