KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's main stock index traded sideways after a sharp dip in the previous session in light of the mildly positive performance in the US market overnight.
The Dow Jones closed slightly higher while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were flat after traders shrugged off a US sovereign ratings downgrade by Moody's and focused on corporate results that are scheduled to stream in over the next two weeks.
The FBM KLCI showed signs of consolidation at the start of Tuesday trading, rising 0.78 points to 1,556.92.
This in line with the expectation of brokerage TA Securities, which anticipates blue chips to consolidate with a downward bias as investors await fresh buying catalysts from upcoming corporate earnings releases.
"Immediate resistance stays at 1,610, with next major resistance seen at 1,644 followed by the August 2024 high of 1,684. Immediate support is
kept at 1,526, with 1,490 and 1,444 acting as stronger supports," it said in its market commentary.
Rakuten Trade in its own analysis said the index's retreat to a five-day low could be owing to profit-taking activities among the local institutions.
"Looking at the prevailing situation, the benchmark index may be stuck within a consolidation phase of 1,550-1,580 range over the
medium term. Nonetheless, we expect the index to hover within the 1,550-1,560 range for today."
At the time of writing, the slight bounce in the blue-chip stocks was led by Hong Leong Bank gaining 14 sen to RM20.04, Nestle adding 22 sen to RM81.02 and PETRONAS Dagangan rising 10 sen to RM19.74.
Among actives today, Dutch Lady
gained 90 sen to RM30, MPI rose 48 sen to RM20.48 and United Plantations climbed 32 sen to RM22.36.
