The HSIF's upside movement was blocked by the overhead resistance at the 20-day SMA line.
RHB Retail Research (RHB) in a note today (Aug 15) the index initially began trading at 17,162 pts.
It touched the 17,291 pts intraday high and pulled back to close at 17,129 pts – printing a bearish candlestick with "long upper shadow".
At the time of writing, the index added 39 pts and last traded at 17,168 pts.
The latest price action shows the bulls respect the 20-day SMA line.
The moving average line is still trending lower, giving downwards pressure on the index.
The bears will have the technical upper hand should the index stays below this short-term moving average line.
The RSI is still trending below 50% – showing momentum remains weak.
In a bearish setup, resistance tends to be strong.
At this juncture, the technical setup remains bearish.
For the upcoming sessions, the HSIF is likely to consolidate sideways below the 20-day SMA line.
Premised on the technical indicators, RHB said they will retain the negative trading bias.
They advised traders to keep the short positions initiated at 18,126 pts (the close of 30 May).
To minimise the trading risks, the trailing-stop threshold is fixed at 17,500 pts.
The immediate support locates at 16,500 pts, followed by 16,000 pts.
On the flipside, the immediate resistance is still pegged at 17,500 pts, followed by 18,000 pts.