KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI extended its advance for a second day on Wednesday morning in a sign that a market rebound may be taking root.
At 9.08am, the local index was up 4.79 points to 1,637.62. Trading volume was 137.61 million shares valued at RM49.95mil. There were 160 advancers versus 72 decliners and 180 counters unchanged.
Kenanga research noted that there was a possibility of a short technical rebound despite the outlook on the index remaining bearish as the 20- and 50-day simple moving averages (SMA) had crossed below its 100-day SMA.
"Should a technical rebound happen, we look towards 1,660 (R1) and 1,700 (R2) as resistance levels. Conversely, support levels can be identified at 1,625 (S1) and 1,615 (S2)," it said.
In early morning trade, bank stocks seemed to be continuing their recovery following Monday's sell-off that dragged down the broader index.
Hong Leong Bank rose 24 sen to RM20.30 and Public Bank gained 19 sen to RM22.88. Other stocks seeing a lift were Genting rising seven sen to RM6.77, MISC adding six sen to RM6.70 and Digi climbing five sen to RM4.66.
Top active counters were Priceworth adding 0.5 sen to 6.5 sen, Sanbumi losing one sen to 36 sen and FGV rising three sen to RM1.25.
Other markets in the region also showed positive price action. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.8%, Australia's ASX200 gained 0.5% and South Korea's Kospi added 0.4%.
The positive performance in Asia came despite an onset of a breather on Wall Street overnight on the heels of its strong performance previously. The Dow Jones slid 0.3%, the S&P500 ended flat and the Nasdaq added 0.25%.
Meanwhile, crude oil continued its winning streak for a fourth day as the sanctions on Iran and Venezuela drove up prices.
Brent futures rose 22 cents to US$69.59 a barrel after earlier reaching US$69.68, the highest since Nov 13. US crude rose six cents to US$62.64 cents a barrel.
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