KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 9): The main index at Bursa Malaysia pared some of its gains at mid-morning today but was still up 0.57% against the backdrop of steady regional markets.

At 10am, the FBM KLCI was up 8.98 points to 1,582.31. The index had earlier risen to a high of 1,585.12.

Gainers led losers by 473 to 343, while 417 counters traded unchanged. Trading volume was 2.13 billion shares valued at RM1.08 billion.

The gainers included Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, Telekom Malaysia Bhd, PLS Plantations Bhd, Kelington Group Bhd, Ajinomoto (M) Bhd, MR DIY Group (M) Bhd and Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd.

The actively traded stocks included Dagang NeXchange Bhd, EA Holdings Bhd, Sapura Energy Bhd, Velesto Energy Bhd, KNM Group Bhd, Kanger International Bhd and Opcom Holdings Bhd.

The decliners included Nestle (M) Bhd, Seni Jaya Corp Bhd, ViTrox Corp Bhd, Heineken Malaysia Bhd, SKB Shutters Corp Bhd, Woodlandor Bhd, See Hup Consolidated Bhd and KESM Industries Bhd.

Reuters said global stocks were poised to rise again on Tuesday in Asian trading after another record-setting day on Wall Street.

Japan's Nikkei 225 futures rose 0.15%, e-mini futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.04% and Australian S&P/ASX 200 futures rose 0.12% in early trading, it said.

Inter-Pacific Research Sdn Bhd said the FBM KLCI lost further ground yesterday as glovemaker stocks continue to retreat after the country’s Covid-19 vaccination roadmap was unveiled.

In its daily bulletin today, the research house said in addition, the weaker IPI reading for 2020 and higher unemployment rate also contributed to the key index bucking the region’s mostly positive trend.

It said conditions in the broader market, meanwhile, were mixed, adding that as a result, market breadth also stayed negative, even as traded volumes gained slightly.

“With overall sentiments remaining guarded, we think the prospects for a near-term rebound is still tepid as most players are still on a wait-and-see mode.

“At the same time, we think that fresh buying will be limited ahead of the Lunar New Year break at the end of the week, while the upcoming GDP report could also see a steeper-than-expected contraction in 4Q2020’s economic activity,” it said.

As such, the research house said the key index is likely to continue drifting with the downside bias still intact for the time being.

It said a bounce, if any, is likely to be mild and could be limited to the near-term hurdle at the 1,580 level.

“Beyond that, the other resistances are at 1,590 and 1,600 respectively, which we believe are still distant targets for the time being.

“The supports, on the other hand, are now located at 1,566 and the psychological 1,550 level,” it said.

Inter-Pacific said despite the thinning volumes, some of lower liners and broader market shares are still gaining ground, helped by trading activities and renewed speculative play on selected stocks.

“This has allowed their rebound from the recent consolidation to resume — a trend that we see continuing over the near term,” it said.