KUALA LUMPUR: Blue chips saw volatile trade early Monday, as buying interest managed to offset MAHB's tumble after the latest political developments in Turkey, but whether the upward trend can be sustained remains to be seen.
At 9.43am, the KLCI was up 1.84 points or 0.11% to 1,670.24, off the earlier low of 1,663.34.
Turnover was 274.55 million shares valued at RM157.41mil. There were 223 gainers, 156 losers and 239 counters unchanged.
Kenanga Investment Research said from a charting perspective, the FBM KLCI’s primary trend remains down, with the 50-week SMA firmly below the 100-week simpole moving average (SMA).
“Nevertheless, last week’s upwards push resulted in a breakout of the shorter term consolidation phase (1,620-1,650). At the same time, the RSI and Stochastic indicators have both hooked upwards to reflect a pick-up in bullish momentum over the near term.
“From here, we expect the KLCI to be biased to the upside this week, with overhead resistance levels at 1,670 (R1) and 1,700 (R2) next. Downside support levels are 1,662 (S1) and 1,643 (S2) further down,” it said.
Stock market data showed foreign funds continued to be net buyers on Bursa Malaysia last Friday at RM249.03mil. However, retail investors and local institutions were net sellers at -RM35.66mil and -RM213.37mil.
Reuters reported oil prices were little unchanged in early Asian trade on Monday as traders shrugged off the impact of Friday's attempted coup in Turkey.
A stronger dollar weighed on prices, although upbeat economic data from the United States and China that supported the outlook for global oil demand lent support.
US crude futures fell 12 cents to US$45.83 a barrel as 0041 GMT after ending the previous session up 27 cents, gaining more than 1% for the week. Brent crude futures slipped one cent to US$47.60 a barrel after closing up 24 cents in the previous session, having gained nearly 2% for the week.
At Bursa Malaysia, Oriental Interest Bhd
(OIB) was the top gainer, up 21 sen to RM3.30 with 28,500 shares done.
KL Kepong added 20 sen to RM23.36 while KESM gained 16 sen to RM5.75. MISC added nine sen to RM7.54.
Car-related companies CCB and MBM Resources advanced. CCB added 16 sen to RM3.36 and MBMR 14 sen to RM2.33.
Axis REIT rose nine sen to RM1.85 following the proposed changes to REITs and also the cut in interest rates.
Hibiscus Petroleum rose 2.5 sen to 21 sen in active trade while TH Heavy added 0.5 sen to seven sen.
AirAsia rose four sen to RM2.81.
MAHB fell 35 sen to RM6.09 but off the low of RM6 with 1.89 million shares done.
Dutch Lady lost 70 sen to RM60.30 and Heneiken eight sen to RM16.98.
Among the finance-related stocks, LPI and HLFG lost six sen each to RM16.10 and RM15.08 while AFG was down five sen to RM4.08.
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