The FBMKLCI rose 14.44pt to close at 1,756.05 last Friday. Meanwhile, stocks gained across Asia, with a rebound in commodity producers helping send the MSCI Asia Pacific Index toward its best week in a month. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.7%.The FBMKLCI’s top gainers were Genting Malaysia (+6.9%), Malayan Banking (+3.5%) and AMMB Holdings (+2.8%) while the top losers were Westports Holdings (-1.2%), British American Tobacco (-1.2%) and Hong Leong Financial Group (-0.11%). In the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 588 to 320 with 386 counters unchanged. Turnover was 3.12b shares valued at RM2.65b. The FBMKLCI has recovered from the earlier pullback to retest its immediate resistance of 1,760 last Friday. On the local front, another batch of earning reports may set the tone for the FBMKLCI, particularly index-linked counters. From a technical perspective, the RSI line rose above 50pt, which signals weaker selling pressure and thus may push the index higher in the near term. The benchmark index has closed above the BBI line, signalling an uptrend from here. Support and resistance levels are maintained as follows:

• Support: 1,729,1,713
• Resistance: 1,760, 1,787

US stocks were higher after the close on Monday, as investors piled into risk assets after pro-European candidate Emmanuel Macron won the first round of the French presidential election on Sunday. Gains in the Basic Materials, Financials and Technology sectors led shares higher. At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.05% to hit a new 1-month high, while the S&P 500 index climbed 1.08%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 1.24%. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 2,197 to 1,020, and 35 ended unchanged. On the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1793 rose and 722 declined, while 104 ended unchanged.

Source: UOB Kay Hian Research - 25 Apr 2017