KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI edged up in early trade Tuesday on some mild bargain hunting but the general outlook for the local market remains cautious.
At 9.15am, the benchmark index rose 1.08 points, or 0.07% to 1,446.48. The index opened 0.28 of a point lower at 1,444.90.
Among the gainers, Nestle rose 80 sen to RM122.50, Ibraco added 27 sen to 89 sen, Malaysian Pacific Industries
gained 24 sen to RM27.04 and Ajinomoto rose 18 sen to RM15.60.
Hextar Technologies tumbled 94 sen to RM22.44, 7-Eleven Malaysia slid 10 sen to RM1.90, Keck Seng lost eight sen to RM4.49 and F&N declined eight sen to RM27.22.
Apex Securities expects bargain-hunting activities to emerge on the local stock market today following last week's volatile period.
“Still, upsides will be choppy and we advocate investors to exercise caution with a focus on the ongoing quarterly results season. Key economic events to monitor this week includes the US inflation data and US–China talks as well as Malaysia’s 3Q23 GDP data.
“We expect the O&G sector will see some rise support by a rebound in oil prices,” it said.
Inter-Pacific Research said market conditions have become relatively indifferent again after the FBM KLCI failed to hold on to the gains it attained in the most recent runup.
This is also leaving the key index at a crossroads due to the lack of follow-through buying interest.
“As it is, optimism over the U.S. interest rate direction has turned to dismay after the Fed hinted that it may still resort to lifting interest rates to combat inflation. At the same time, domestic leads continue to be thin with market players waiting for more corporate results to be announced over the coming weeks that will allow them to assess the corporate prospects heading into 2024.
“With the key index slipping below the 1,450 level and few signs of a rebound as yet, the near-term outlook is still meek and the downside bias remains for now. The supports are now at the 1,438-1,440 levels, followed by the 1,432 level, which is the 200-day moving average line. Above the immediate resistance of 1,450 points, the other hurdle is at 1,455 points,” Inter-Pacific said.
Overnight, Wall Street closed with a mixed performance as investors awaited fresh inflation data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.16% to 34,337.87, the S&P 500 lost 0.08% to 4,411.55 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.22% to 13,767.74.
