KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia saw a positive early-morning start following the performance on Wall Street overnight although the gains are expected to be capped in anticipation of more external data from global economies.
The major US indices ended higher overnight on hopes a deal over the debt ceiling could be reached in the House of Representatives.
At the opening bell, Malaysia’s benchmark FBM KLCI was up 0.55 points to 1,417.92, as it made a mild rebound following the recent declines.
Malacca Securities Research expects the market to remain sideways with the upside staying capped on the regional indices as traders adopt a wait-and-see approach.
“Given the uncertain environment, we expect traders to focus on defensive sectors such as telecommunication, utilities and consumer.
“Also, we believe the gold price could remain firm ahead of the debt ceiling negotiation, translating to potential trading opportunities within the gold-related stocks,” it said in its review.
TA Securities Research meanwhile said the local market should continue drifting lower while awaiting from data from key global ecnomies for leads on inflation and a more sustainable global growth outlook.
“Immediate index support will be the 1,400 psychological level, while key chart supports remain the recent low of 1,391 and last October’s low of 1,372.
“Immediate overhead resistance stays at 1,450, followed by the leveling 200-day moving average at 1,456, with 1,480 and 1,500 acting as stronger resistance levels,” it said in a market commentary.
Stocks on Bursa Malaysia taking the early lead included MPI up 14 sen to RM27.60, BAT gaining eight sen to RM10.70 and Kuala Lumpur Kepong rising six sen to RM22.28.
AirAsia X was up five sne to Rm4.84 while Pertama Digital gained five sen to RM2.65 and SFP Tech added five sen to RM2.60.
Top actives included Vinvest rising 0.5 sen to 18.5 sen, Bahvest unchanged at 12 sen and Classita staying flat at 16 sen. – The Star