KLCI reverses loss as Public Bank and Hartalega lift

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 23): The main index of Bursa Malaysia reversed its earlier loss in the mid-morning as Public Bank Bhd and Hartalega Holdings Bhd lifted.

At 10am, the FBM KLCI had ticked up 1.49 points to 1,500.29. The index earlier slipped to a low of 1,496.73.

Gainers led losers by 422 to 289, while 386 counters traded unchanged. Trading volume was 1.34 billion valued at RM815.19 million.

The gainers included ViTrox Corp Bhd, JF Technology Bhd, Mi Technovation Bhd, Public Bank, British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd, Hartalega and Dufu Technology Corp Bhd.

The actively traded stocks included Iris Corp Bhd, Diversified Gateway Solutions Bhd, Yong Tai Bhd and Datasonic Group Bhd.

The decliners included Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd, Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, Petronas Dagangan Bhd, Genting Plantations Bhd, AEON Credit Service (M) Bhd, IHH Healthcare Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd, Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Bhd, Guan Chong Bhd and Mega First Corp Bhd.

Reuters said Asian stocks were set for cautious gains today after positive US economic data and signs of progress in stimulus talks in Washington lifted Wall Street benchmarks.

Rakuten Trade said volatility on Wall Street continues as dictated by the still unfinalised stimulus package.

It said hopes for the stimuli yo-yoed over the past few weeks with the latest development being that an agreement should be finalised soon.

“As such, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 153 points to inch towards the 28,400 level from the day’s low of around the 28,000 mark.

“Therefore, we reckon regional markets will see slight improvements following a weak performance yesterday.

“On the local front, we believe the KLCI [will] breach the 1,500 level with 1,510 being the immediate resistance [level] today, buoyed by glove counters on the back of surging [new] Covid-19 cases globally of late,” it said.

Source: TheEdgeMarkets