KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 18): The FBM KLCI erased its earlier loss and rose 0.88% in the mid-morning today, with index-linked glove makers Top Glove Corp Bhd and Hartalega Holdings Bhd leading the charge, as regional markets and US futures drifted.

At 10am, the KLCI had risen 13.79 points to 1,574.53. The index earlier drifted to a low of 1,557.25.

Gainers led losers by 452 to 285, while 347 counters traded unchanged. Trading volume was 2.54 billion shares valued at RM1.48 billion.

The top gainers included Top Glove, Supermax Corp Bhd, Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd, Hartalega, LPI Capital Bhd, Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Bhd and Rubberex Corp (M) Bhd.

The actively traded stocks included Borneo Oil Bhd, XOX Bhd, Niche Capital Emas Holdings Bhd, Green Packet Bhd, Sapura Energy Bhd, Optimax Holdings Bhd, Sanichi Technology Bhd and Vivocom Intl Holdings Bhd.

The decliners included Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd, Petronas Dagangan Bhd, Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd and Focus Lumber Bhd.

Bloomberg said Asian stocks and US futures drifted today after the S&P 500 Index failed at another attempt to break a record high amid an impasse over US stimulus measures.

The US dollar dipped and Treasuries climbed, it said.

Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) Research said while the KLCI is expected to continue its short-term range-bound consolidation (within the 1,539-1,600 range) amid domestic political uncertainties, a weak August reporting season, increasing numbers of new Covid-19 clusters and the detection of virus mutation D614G (which is 10 times more infectious) as well as heightened US-China geopolitical tension, the consolidation of ACE Market-listed stocks and small caps could be reaching the tail end following a technical rebound in the FBMACE (+2.6% after sliding 6.9% week-on-week) and FBMSCAP (+0.21% after tumbling 4.6% week-on-week) yesterday.

“On stock selection, we expect trading platform providers such as Excel Force MSC Bhd (50.5 sen; 'not-rated') and N2N Connect Bhd (78.5 sen; 'not-rated') are likely to exhibit strong 2Q20 (second-quarter of 2020) results (similar to Bursa Malaysia Bhd), riding on the rising trade volume of Bursa.

“Technically, both stocks are likely to see limited downside risk following recent correction from their peaks.

“For Excel Force, a decisive reclaim above 52.5 sen will spur prices higher towards the 58 sen-61 sen zones, while supports are pegged at 46.5 sen-49 sen (cut loss at 46 sen).

“For N2N, a decisive breakout above 82 sen will spur prices higher towards the 87 sen-93 sen zones, while supports are pegged at 74 sen-76 sen (cut loss at 73.5 sen),” it said.