Bursa Malaysia climbs early Monday, PetDag underpins gains

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia advanced early Monday, underpinned by gains in Petronas Dagangan and Hong Leong Bank while the broader market was also firmer.

At 9.24am, the KLCI was up 3.79 points or 0.21% to 1,832.62. Turnover was 576.26 million shares valued at RM254mil. There were 288 gainers, 187 losers and 290 counters unchanged.

The ringgit dipped slightly to 3.94248 against the US dollar after last week’s rally.

Financial markets in the US and Asian stocks took a knock early on Monday after the US government was forced to shut down amid a dispute between President Donald Trump and Democrats over immigration, Reuters reported.

 MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.2% while Japan's Nikkei was down 0.1 %.

US S&P500 mini futures dipped 0.15% in early trade while US Treasuries futures price dropped 5/32 to 6 1/2-year low.

Kenanga Research said ?he KLCI index continues to lead key SMAs upwards with candlestick and volume indicator in a bullish state. Overall, the technical picture remains in a “Golden Crossover” state.

“Expect eventual gains towards resistance at 1,840 (R1) and 1,866 (R2) levels.  Any near-term weakness is likely to be short-term in nature.

“Immediate support is seen at the psychological level of 1,800 (S1) and 1,793 (S2) next, where investors can look forward to buying on dips,” said the research house.

Petronas Dagangan and Hong Leong Bank each rose 28 sen to RM24.88 and RM17.80. Hengyuan added to its recovery, up 48 sen to RM14.78 while its call warrants also climbed.

Genting Plantation gained 28 sen to RM10.68, Lafarge 16 sen to RM6.1 and Halex 14.5 sen to RM1.08.

Among the consumer stocks, Dutch Lady rose 32 sen to RM62.40,  BAT fell the most, down 78 sen to RM32.22, Ajinomoto 32 sen to RM20.38, Nestle 10 sen to RM105.80.

KESM was down 38 sen to RM20.20, UMW nine sen to RM6.77 and PetGas six sen to RM18.14.