Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) said in a note today that it anticipated a lukewarm trading sentiment to persist into the first week of the Lunar New Year, with the FBM KLCI projected at the 1,500 to 1,510 support range.
“Investor sentiment may also remain cautious due to ongoing concerns about the Federal Reserve’s stance on its monetary policy, uncertainties surrounding the sustainability of China’s stock market recovery and expectations of a flurry of local corporate results post-CNY,” it said in a note.
Nonetheless, HLIB is hopeful for a reprieve in the FBM KLCI towards the 1512-1528 level should these concerns subside, fuelled by increased risk appetite by foreigners for the under-owned Bursa Malaysia (with foreign shareholding at a low of 19.5% in December 2023).
“We are also looking at that earnings outlook for FBM KLCI components and a soft landing narrative in the US amid decelerating inflation,” it added.
At 9.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 5.19 points to 1,517.47 from last Friday’s close of 1,512.28.
The barometer index opened 0.35 of-a-point higher at 1,512.63.
On the broader market, gainers led losers at 159 to 93, while 220 counters were unchanged, 1,815 untraded and 11 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 87.57 million units worth RM47.83 million.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank added four sen to RM9.30, Public Bank was two sen better at RM4.37, CIMB improved three sen to RM6.22 while Tenaga Nasional lost two sen to RM10.76.
As for the actives, KNM Group and Reneuco were both flat at nine sen and 5.5 sen respectively, TWL and Minetech added half-a-sen each to four sen and 15 sen, while YNH Property accumulated 3.5 sen to 65 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 36.89 points higher at 11,281.90, the FBMT 100 Index edged up 36.79 points to 10,941.30, the FBM 70 Index appreciated 48.78 points to 15,259.11, the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 26.01 points to 11,312.19, but the FBM ACE Index erased 8.73 points to 4,813.48.
Sector-wise, the Property Index inched up 3.84 points to 916.19, the Plantation Index improved 36.84 points to 7,229.0 and the Energy Index added 2.33 points to 890.29.
The Financial Services Index jumped 60.04 points to 16,941.02 and the Industrial Products and Services Index gained 0.27 of-a-point to 172.96.