KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 3): The main index at Bursa Malaysia edged up in early trade Thursday as select blue chips lifted, against the backdrop of muted regional markets.

At 9.06am, the FBM KLCI added 0.76 points to 1,599.48.

The early gainers included Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, Hong Leong Bank Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd, Euro Holdings Bhd, Hartalega Holdings Bhd, GETS Global Bhd and Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd.

Bloomberg said equity trading in Asia kicked off in muted fashion as global stocks paused at all-time highs, with investors assessing renewed optimism over U.S. stimulus talks and vaccine approval.

Treasury yields ticked down and the dollar touched a more than two-year low, it said.

Rakuten Trade in its daily market report said Wall Street closed on a slight positive note as traders are looking at the latest negotiations on the US stimulus bill.

It said the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 60 points higher at almost the 30,000 mark. Regional equities are seen to be mixed on the lack of clear buying catalysts.

“Locally, following bouts of profit taking activities yesterday we reckon the FBM KLCI to possibly test the 1,600 level today.

“We believe the benchmark index to see some intermittent consolidation it continues to trend between the 1,590-1,610 range.

“Meanwhile, we notice the Brent crude price is inching towards the US$50/barrel as it closed US$0.83 higher yesterday at US$48.25.

“We see there were some buying interests on construction related stocks as well amid some newsflow on the implementation of construction projects of late,” it said.