KUALA LUMPUR: The local bourse cooled following two days of gains as investors moved to take profits.
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At lunch break, the benchmark FBM KLCI had fallen a negligible 0.23 of a point to 1,424.11. The index had earlier dipped to its intra-morning low of 1,421.92.
Winners and losers were closely balanced, with 324 gainers against 334 losers and 402 that were flat. Volume was 1.35 billion shares, valued at RM766.8mil.
Inter-Pacific Research said with the key index regaining some traction, it would be looking to build upon the gains it attained over the past two sessions to extend its upward streak.
However, it said the upsides could still be relatively benign due to the continuing low market interest.
“There is also a dearth of noteworthy domestic leads with market players awaiting for more corporate results to be released over the coming weeks to gauge the prospects of Malaysian companies over the coming quarters.
“As such, the key index could only be targeting the 1,425-1,428 levels over the near term which could also help it to fortify its base building efforts.
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“Beyond the above levels, the ensuing resistance is at 1,430 points, while the immediate support is the 1,420 level, followed by 1,417 points,” Inter-Pacific said.
Tracking overnight surge on Wall Street, Hong Leong Investment Bank Research said the FBM KLCI is likely to extend its gains for a third consecutive session.
“A successful breakout above 1,427 (30D MA) and 1,438 (8 May high) barriers would spur the index to revisit 1,456 (200D MA)-1,473 (23.6% FR) levels.
“Conversely, a decisive breakdown below 1,412 (1M low) could trigger another selloff towards lower supports at 1,391-1,400 territory,” the research house said.
Malaysian Pacific Industries was the top gainer, rising 26 sen to RM27.86, followed by PPB, which climbed 26 sen to RM16.22 and Hume Cement Industries, which rose 14 sen to RM1.40.
Among the losers, PJBumi plunged 38.5 sen, or 29.84% to 90.5 sen, PETRONAS Dagangan eased 36 sen to RM22.24 and Nestle fell 30 sen to RM134.50. – The Star