KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI rose in early trade on Boxing Day, supported by mild post-holiday activity, amidst thin trading volume.
The FBM KLCI rose 3.62 points, or 0.23% to 1,606.35 at 9.12 am. The index opened 0.59 of a point higher at 1,603.58 earlier.
PETRONAS Chemicals rose 15 sen to RM4.87, Coastal Contracts
added 14 sen to RM1.68, Maybank climbed six sen to RM10.14 and United Plantations gained six sen to RM30.06.
Among the decliners, Yinson fell eight sen to RM2.62, Telekom Malaysia slid four sen to RM6.68, Public Bank declined three sen to RM4.52 and Alliance Bank gave up three sen to RM4.80.
Zen Tech, the most active counter on Bursa Malaysia, surged 100%, or 0.5 sen to one sen with 84.6 million shares traded.
US markets were closed for the Christmas holiday.
Inter-Pacific Research noted that mild window dressing activities are expected to emerge in the day ahead, which should help keep the key index above the 1,600 level for the time being.
However, it is also observed that market interest will be thin, as most market players are still on their year-end break.
At the same time, there will also be fewer market leads ahead and this could also contribute to the thinner volumes into the final trading week of the year.
“Meanwhile, the continuing window dressing activities would help the key index to firm up further to the immediate hurdle at 1,605 points, before making a pass at the 200-day moving average line around the 1,607-1,610 levels.
“On the downside, the 1,600 level is the immediate support, followed by the 1,595 level,” Inter Pacific said.
“We also see mild buying interest among the lower liners sustaining, largely on window dressing activities ahead of year-end. This should also help the key lower liner indices like the FBM Small Cap and FBM ACE Market to nudge higher,” it added.
Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade said although hints of bargain hunting were apparent, the local bourse is in serious need of a major influx of liquidity. It is hoped that the buying momentum will pick up and drive the index higher into 2025.
“Hence, we expect the benchmark index to hover within the 1,600-1,610 today,” it said.
