KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian stock benchmark rose slightly in early trade although the resistance levels remained intact, suggesting it will remain within a consolidation trend over the immediate term.
At the start of trading, the FBM KLCI was 3.94 points higher at 1,599.32, keeping below the 1,600 psychological level amid an absence of fresh buying leads.
The sluggishness in the market has kept the index range-bound in recent weeks with foreign investors turning net sellers of Malaysian equities for four straight weeks.
According to Rakuten Trade, the index attempted a rebound yesterday but it was short-lived as foreign funds sold down the shares during the afternoon session.
"As a result, we reckon any window dressing activities may not take effect anytime soon thus expect the index to maintain its consolidation and trend between the 1,595-1,605 range today," it said in a note.
This was in contrast to the positive performance on Wall Street overnight with both Nasdaq and S&P500 ascending to fresh record highs.
The S&P 500 rose 0.24% to 6,047.15 and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.97% to 19,403.95. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.29% to 44,782.00.
On Bursa Malaysia, United Plantations continued its rally, ganing 34 sen to RM31.
NationGate rose 12 sen to RM2.41 and EG Industries
jumped eight sen to RM2.14.
Semiconductor-related counter Inari rose five sen to RM2.82 and Greatec added five sen to RM2.12.
Top actives were Sapura Energy flat at four sen, Zentech unchanged at one sen and Northeast down three sen to 64 sen.
