KUALA LUMPUR: The rebound on Wall Street last Friday is offering some lift to the domestic market although analysts say the consolidation pressures should remain given the persistent foreign selling.
At the start of Monday trading, the benchmark FBM KLCI was up 0.28 points to 1,629.74, hovering near the 100-day simple moving average as investors sought out fresh direction in the second week of the new year.
Apex Securities Research said the benchmark remained in a consolidation mode as uncertainty over incoming US President Donald Trump's policies are keeping investors cautious.
Meanwhile, the prospect of slower US Federal Reserve rate cuts are keeping the US dollar strong, encouraging the return of capital flows into the US.
Nevertheless, the research firm expects the trend to be temporary given that Malaysian stocks remain reasonably priced.
For the day ahead, Apex said the technology sector is expected to attract buying interest following the rise in the Nasdaq last Friday.
"The energy sector might also see some bargain-hunting activity, driven by expectations of stronger demand and hopes that China, the world's largest crude importer, will follow through on its pledges to further stimulate growth in the new year," it added.
On the FBM KLCI , IHH shed seven sen to RM7.21 while Nestle dropped 26 sen to RM97.96.
Bank stocks picked up with Maybank gaining two sen to RM10.16, Public Bank climbing three sen to RM4.53 and RHB rising two sen to RM6.45.
There was also some positive movement in glove counters with Top Glove adding six sne to RM1.39, Supermax rising five sen to RM1.32 and Careplus adding one sen to 27 sen.
Top actives were Velocity up 0.5 sen to 7.5 sen, Aimflex down 0.5 sne to 15 sen and Harvest Mircale gaining 1.5 sen to 20.5 sen.
