The FBMKLCI climbed 2.61pt to close at 1,746.81 yesterday following bargain hunting after the index fell last Wednesday. Meanwhile, Asia stocks hovered near a decade high on Thursday following another record-breaking day on Wall Street, while the New Zealand dollar rallied as hawkish-sounding statements by the country's central bank boosted the recently battered currency. The FBMKLCI’s top gainers were British American Tobacco (+3.9%), Petronas Gas (+3.8%) and Genting Bhd (+3.4%), while the top losers were Petronas Dagangan (-1.4%), IJM Corporation (-1.3%) and Westports Holdings (-1.1%). In the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 431 to 428 with 417 counters unchanged. Turnover was 3.09b shares valued at RM2.34b. Given the earlier mixed connotation, the FBMKLCI remains unperturbed by a lack of domestically-driven catalysts as selling pressure has been gradually absorbed in the past few days. A positive follow-through from this level would place the index back on its bullish course and is consistent with the growing momentum as shown by an uptick in RSI. Moving forward, we expect mild consolidation within the 1,740-1,770 region with an upper breakout in the cards once selling pressure has fully normalised. Support and resistance levels are as follows:

• Support: 1,729,1,713
• Resistance: 1,766, 1,778

US stocks closed lower on Thursday, led by losses in the industrials, technology and basic materials sectors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%, the S&P 500 index declined 0.5% and the NASDAQ Composite index lost 0.7%. Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1,981 to 1,134 with 48 ended unchanged. On the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1,513 fell and 999 advanced, while 104 ended unchanged.

Source: UOB Kay Hian Research - 10 Nov 2017