KUALA LUMPUR: Investors are turning to caution as the US Federal Reserve's decision on the lending rate approaches with the FBM KLCI starting on a flattish note on Tuesday.
At the start of trading, the benchmark index edged 0.16 points higher to 1,624.78 to peek just above the 14-day simple moving average.
Apex Securities Research belives the recovery seen yesterday might not be sustainable given the US central bank's impending decision while the rally on the lower liners will come to a halt as they retrace from overbought levels.
"Moving forward, we expect to see some trading opportunity in transportation sector after Transport Minister Anthony Loke express hope to develop and enhance the infrastructure at existing ports, aiming to make Malaysia a ‘homeport’ for cruise ships.
"Conversely, oil and gas stocks might come under pressure with weakness in Brent oil prices, as traders remain unfazed by the Israel-Hezbollah escalation," said the research firm in a note.
Among the blue chips, Tenaga Nasional rose eight sen to RM14.18, Sunway added two sen tro RM4.38 and Sime Darby gained three sen to RM2.61.
Maybank, meanwhile, rose to a fresh multi-year high after tacking on four sen to RM10.24.
Leading the market's actives list, Velocity gained 0.5 sen to 8.5 sne, Ingenieur was flat at 5.5 sen and PCCS climbed seven sen to 52 sen.
