KUALA LUMPUR: A strong start on Tuesday affirmed the rally on Bursa Malaysia still has legs after four consecutive sessions of gains that took it a seven-year high.
The FBM KLCI opened 5.18 points higher at 1,749.25, even as the technical indicators flashed overbought signals given the pace of the ongoing rally.
As at 9.25am, the index had jumped 12.76 points to 1,756.83.
Apex Research said investor focus remains on the US Federal Reserve’s policy outlook on Jan 29, with markets widely expecting rates to be kept unchanged at 3.50%-3.75% at the upcoming meeting. Attention will be drawn to the Fed's guidance on the timing of the next rate cut.
"Domestically, we expect FBM KLCI to trade with a mildly positive bias, supported by continued foreign fund inflows and a firmer ringgit, which has helped underpin overall market sentiment," it added.
As at Tuesday, the ringgit had firmed up to 3.96 against the greenback, with the latter currency facing downside pressure amid talk of the US government's plan to intervene in the decline of the Japanese yen.
Apex noted that market attention this week will turn to a heavy slate of Big Tech earnings, including results from Microsoft, Meta and Tesla on Jan 28, followed by Apple on Jan 29.
"Guidance from these Magnificent Seven heavyweights, particularly on AI-related spending, cloud demand and margin trends, is expected to be a key driver shaping risk appetite across regional markets."
Separately, TA Securities has revised higher its technical targets for the FBM KLCI following the 3% increase in the Malaysian stock benchmark since Jan 20.
"Immediate resistance is revised upwards to the 138.2%FP (1,804), with next upside hurdle coming at the 150%FP (1,841), followed by tougher resistance at the 161.8%FP (1,879). Immediate support is also adjusted higher to the 1,700 psychological level, with stronger support coming from the September 2016 low (1,645), followed by the 76.4%FR (1,610)," it said in a note.
At the time of writing, heavywight banks on the FBM KLCI continued to lead the rally, including Hong Leong Bank gaining 16 sen to TM24.66, Maybank rising 10 sen to RM11.60, AmBank adding 12 sen to RM6.67, Public Bank jumping seven sne to RM4.94 and RHB climbing 18 sen to RM8.47.
Top actives on the broader market included Capital A, sliding back 0.5 sen to 58.5 sen, OGM falling three sen to 22 sen and Greentec gaining 2.5 sen to 26 sen.
