KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI edged up on Thursday as investors turned cautious ahead of the tabling of Budget 2026.
At 9am, the benchmark index rose 1.37 points to 1,628.87, a conservative start given the record-breaking performance on Wall Street overnight.
Malacca Securities in its report anticipated local technology stocks to benefit from the spillover effect of the Nasdaq's rally to a fresh historical high.
"We anticipate buying interest in technology stocks, particularly in EMS players like Aurelius Tech, given its proxy towards Industry 4.0 as well as its sizeable current order book," it said.
In early trading, semiconductor plays were shown putting on weight - MI Technovation climbed nine sen to RM2.78, Vitrox rose seven sen to RM4.45 and MPI was up 20 sen to RM99.50.
Among blue chips, Gamuda rose five sen to RM5.37, Kuala Lumpur Kepong gained six sen to RM20.66 and QL Resources was up three sen to RM4.44.
Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade said selling pressure persisted predominantly due to selling by foreign funds. However, it noted that the index rebounded off the day's low at yesterday's close, suggesting the prevalence of underlying buying support.
"As such, we remain adamant that the local bourse still has the legs to scale higher hence expect the
index to trend between the 1,625-1,635 range today," it said in a note.
TA Securities said stocks are expected to consolidate with a downward bias as investors trim positions while looking forward to the Budget 2026 announcement tomorrow for clarity on the government's economic plans.
"Immediate support is kept at the 61.8%FR (1,564), with stronger supports seen at the 50%FR
(1,527) followed by the 38.2%FR (1,490). Immediate resistance is capped at the December 2024 high of 1,644, followed by tougher upside hurdles at the highs of 1,684, and 1,695," it said in its market commentary.
