KUALA LUMPUR: After three straight days of gains in the previous week, the local bourse is expected to remain firm as bargain-hunters continue to capitalise on the improved trading sentiment to buy up oversold counters.
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At the opening bell, the benchmark FBM KLCI was down 0.84 points to 1,412.68 as it hovered near the 100-day simple moving average that was crossed last Friday.
“The near-term outlook remains firm and we see further upsides as the key index continues its recovery trend.
“The lower liners may capitalise onto the upward move, on the back of rotational play,” said Malacca Securities Research in a note.
However, the research firm noted also that the recent Wall Street earnings failed to keep the rally going in its latest session, which could result in some near-term weakness.
It said the market was anticipating the US Federal Reserve to price in a final 25 basis points to the interest rate this week, marking the end to its current rate hike plan.
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There were mixed performances on the blue-chip index early on Monday as Tenaga Nasional slipped three sen to RM5.27 while PETRONAS Chemicals rose three sen to RM6.53.
Kuala Lumpur Kepong was down 12 sen to RM22.66, Press Metal shed three sen to RM4.77 and PETRONAS Gas dipped 10 sen to RM16.90.
7-Eleven Malaysia, which has been in the news for its proposed sale of Caring Pharmacy to BIG Pharmacy, dove 19 sen to RM2.01, erasing nearly all the gains it made in the past week.
Meanwhile, top actives included Classita down 0.5 sen to 16 sen, MRCB up 0.5 sen to 40 sen and Jetson sliding three sen to 20.5 sen.
– The Star