KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI staged a pre-budget rebound on Monday, with banking stocks leading the way in early trade.
A dealer attributed the surge to a pre-budget rally, while another highlighted the buying interest in Public Bank following its decline last week.
The FBM KLCI rose 8.93 points, or 0.55% to 1,642.48 at 9.13 am. The index opened 3.62 points higher at 1,637.17.
Public Bank rose eight sen, or 1.86%, to RM4.39, with 17.3 million shares traded. Last week, the bank announced that it is buying a 44.15% stake in LPI Capital from the estate of the late Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow and Consolidated Teh Holdings Sdn Bhd for RM1.72bil in cash, which is RM9.80 per share.
Among the banks, Maybank was unchanged at RM10.56, CIMB added four sen to RM8.26, Hong Leong Bank rose 12 sen to RM21.22, and RHB Bank climbed one sen to RM6.26.
Other gainers on Bursa Malaysia include United Plantations, which jumped 22 sen to RM26.20, F&N, which added 20 sen to RM31.20, and Carlsberg, which climbed eight sen to RM19.54.
Among the losers, Quality slid 16 sen to RM1.06, Bursa Malaysia lost 12 sen to RM9.56, Concrete Engineering Products
fell seven sen to RM1.10 and Malaysian Pacific Industries declined six sen to RM26.20.
Inter-Pacific Research said market conditions are likely to remain indifferent, with low market interest and a sideways-to-downward trend expected due to the ongoing lack of significant catalysts.
As it is, most market players are still on the sidelines, scouring for more leads before making their decisions. In particular, the market is awaiting the unveiling of Budget 2025 for clues on the economy’s direction and the corresponding impact on corporates.
At the same time, there were few fresh leads from China’s stimulus measures, and this could leave the Malaysian equity market to drift for longer, casting aside Wall Street’s record-breaking run.
“Amid the continuing wait-and-see stance, the FBM KLCI’s immediate support is now pegged at 1,630 points, followed by the 1,625 level. The resistances, meanwhile, are at 1,640 and 1,645 points respectively,” Inter-Pacific said.
Last Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.97% to 42,863.86, the S&P 500 gained 0.61% to 5,815.03 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.33% to 18,342.94.
Apex Securities expects a potential recovery to take place today over at the FBM KLCI, taking a cue from the positive developments on Wall Street last Friday as we approach the tabling of Budget 2025.
It added that lower liners may stay in consolidation mode due to a lack of fresh catalysts, while investors will watch US performance closely this week, as key economic data could signal interest rate movements by the Fed.
“The Middle East tension continues to escalate, keeping traders on edge. The ongoing corporate earnings releases in the US will be in focus.
“Sector-wise, we favour the plantation sector with crude palm oil (CPO) price advanced above RM4,300 per tonne,” Apex said.
