KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI opened slightly higher, staying within reach of the 50-day simple moving average as investors practised caution amid the mixed headlines from the Middle East.
At Thursday's open, the market barometer rose 5.16 points to 1,715.55, keeping the index at one-month highs as risk appetite improved on the back of earnings in global technology counters.
Apex Securities said the FBM KLCI is expected to trade on a cautious, range-bound footing in the near-term as the previous day's pullback and negative market breadth signal a pause in momentum.
"While elevated Brent crude may continue to support energy-related counters, weakness in financials and consumer names could cap broader index upside," it said.
On the external front, it said sentiment remains mixed, with strong gains in US markets led by the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite. While underpinned by robust earnings, the gains were offset by lingering geopolitical risks in the Strait of Hormuz and softer European performance.
"As such, we expect local equity market to remain selective, with potential rotation into defensives and commodity-linked plays, while overall sentiment stays headline-driven in the near term."
Meanwhile, heavyweight banks bounced back from the previous day's sell-off. Maybank gained 10 sen to RM11.32, Public Bank rose one sen to RM8.28 and CIMB added four sen to RM7.78.
Active shares included ACE Market debutant AMS Advanced Materila, which was down 0.5 sen at 28.5 sen, NexG up 1.5 sen to 33 sen and Velesto
up one sen to 34 sen.
