KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 27): The FBM KLCI dipped 0.35% as the market closed ahead of the long weekend for the Lunar New Year holiday.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI fell 5.86 points to 1,686.36, down from its intra-morning high of 1,695.72.

Gainers led losers by 367 to 244, while 340 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 1.05 billion shares, valued at RM1.20 billion.

The top losers included PPB Group Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, Hong Leng Financial Group Bhd, United Plantations Bhd, Axiata Group Bhd, Genting Bhd, The Store Corporation Bhd, Petronas Dagangan Bhd and UMW Holdings Bhd.

The actives included AirAsia X Bhd, Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd, Sime Darby Bhd, Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd, Metronic Global Bhd and IFCA MSC Bhd.

The gainers included Nestle (M) Bhd, Panasonic Malaysia Manufacturing Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Allianz Malaysia Bhd, Sime Darby Bhd and Perusahaan Sadur Timah Malaysia (Perstima) Bhd.

Asian shares were steady on Friday in holiday-thinned trade and were on track for a solid advance this week, while oil and the dollar retained gains in the wake of strong U.S. corporate earnings, according to Reuters.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was little changed, with several markets closed for the Lunar New Year holiday. It is on track to end the week up 1.9%, it said.

Kenanga IB Research said the FBM KLCI advanced 8.29 points (0.492%) yesterday to close at 1,692.22, inspired by a fresh historical high performance by the DJIA and firmer ringgit at RM4.4268/USD.

It said market breadth were leaning towards the positive-bias, with 432 advancers outpacing 308 decliners during the intraday.

The research house said trading volume is observed to be thinner, while key momentum indicators such as relative strength index and Stochastic are flattening out at their respective toppish condition.

“With the local bourse being opened only for the first half of the day today, mild profit-taking activities is expected to kick in, while trading volume is expected to vaporise, as investors take off for their long holiday break ahead.

“Thus we view that the FBM KLCI to end the week on a listless tone, within 1,680-1,690 today.

“Key resistance levels are still found at 1,700 (R1)/1,720 (R2), while support levels are tied at 1,690 (S1)/1,680 (S2),” it said.