KUALA LUMPUR: The upside trend on the domestic market remains intact, say analysts, despite the recent profit-taking pressure.
At yesterday's close, the FBM KLCI ended a four-day winning streak after falling 16.43 points to 1,538.13, with profit-taking in plantation stocks weighing heavily on the index.
Rakuten Trade said the FBM KLCI underwent a transition as it closed below 1,540 after adjustments for dividends among some heavyweights.
"We believe stock accumulation will return hence we expect the index to continue its march towards the 1,600 level. For today, we reckon the index to hover within the 1,540-1,550 range," it said in its daily market report.
The research firm added that there continues to be positive interest in plantation counters after the crude palm oil price charted a 52-week high of RM4,200 per tonne due to lower inventory.
Overnight, Wall Street stocks closed lower with the S&P500 falling 0.2% to 5,165 as it stepped back from record levels of trading while the Nasdaq dropped 0.5% to 16,177. The Dow Jones rose 0.1% to 39,043.
At Thursday's open, the FBM KLCI was down 2.53 points to 1,535.6 as the decline continued in certain heavyweights.
PETRONAS Gas fell 12 sen to RM17.72, Tenaga Nasional dropped six sen to RM11.48 and YTL Power dropped three sen to RM3.65.
Maybank, meanwhile, shed three sen to RM9.59 while MISC fell two sen to RM7.40.
Of actives, Eversendai topped the list, rising four sen to a fresh four-year high of 43 sen on news of its RM5.4bil in contract wins. Hong Seng rose 0.5 sen to two sen and GDB added three sen to 26 sen.
