KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI rebounded strongly on Monday following the government’s weekend announcement that there would be no full lockdown in the country in favour of a move to tighten restrictions.
At 12.30pm, the key index was up 11.24 points to 1,573.41, retracing most of the losses from last Friday’s sell-off.
The index however failed to retrace above the 200-day simple moving average, indicating continued bearish sentiment in the market.
Over the coming period, Malacca Securities Research expects the FBM KLCI to remain volatile with the next support level located at 1,545 and the resistance pegged to 1,590 to 1,600.
“With the enhanced movement control order being implemented in wider areas in the country, we expect weaker trading sentiment for this week,” it added.
Heavyweights leading the rebound included Maybank up 11 sen to RM8.35, Press Metal
gaining 14 sen to RM5.14, Axiata jumping 10 sen to RM3.50, Sime Darby Plantation clibing 16 sen to RM4.59 and MISC adding 16 sen to RM6.79.
While there has been renewed focus on healthcare stocks, the downward pressure on glove counters continued given ongoing uncertainty over future demand and average selling prices.
Top Glove dropped four sen to RM5.27, Hartalega shed 16 sen to RM9.42 and Supermax slid eight sen to RM4.55.
On the broader market, top actives were Privasia Technology gaining 8.5 sen to 26 sen, Eka Noodles surging 2.5 sen to 4.5 sen and Focus Dyamics unchanged at 6.5 sen.
In Asian markets, results with mixed with ahead of key US inflation reading for guidance on the Fed’s monetary policy.
Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.4% while South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.2%.
China’s composite index added 0.2% but Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.4%. Australia’s ASX200 rose 0.2%.
