KUALA LUMPUR: The domestic market could be poised for a rebound following the conclusion of the Johor weekend by-elections although investor anticipation of further developments on the political scene may cap upside potential on the market.
Malacca Securities Research said in a note it expects the market to perform better in the near term as the Johor by-elections maintained the status quo while the positive rebound on Wall Street could spill over to stocks on the local front.
"However, given the fluid developments in the political scene, it may limit the upside potential of the stock markets and we believe traders may turn their attention to value stocks during uncertainty periods," said the research firm in a note.
It added that the Chinese government's extension of an iPhone ban on local government and state-owned firms could contribute to weaker sentiment across the technology sector, while the oil and gas sector could benefit from healthy price movements in the price of Brent crude.
At the opening bell, the benchmark FBM KLCI was down 1.23 points to 1,453.72 as investors stayed cautious following the previous week's decline.
Bank stocks were mixed with Maybank rising one sen to RM9.15, Public Bank shedding one sen to Rm4.23, CIMB dropping one sen to RM5.68 and Hong Leong Bank losing four sen to RM19.76.
There were, however, gains in the PETRONAS-related counters, including PETRONAS Dagangan up 30 sen to RM23 and PETRONAS Gas rising 12 sen to RM17.08.
Tech stocks were down including MPI sliding 34 sen to RM28.06, Unisem falling five sen to RM3.12 and Pentamaster dropping four sen to RM5.21.
Top actives stocks included KNM unchanged at 12 sen, Tanco flat at 56 sen and MAG up one sen to 20.5 sen.
