KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 19): The FBM KLCI edged up in early trade Wednesday in line with regional markets, while the smaller-cap glove counters including Rubberex Corp (M) Bhd, Comfort Gloves Bhd and Adventa Bhd were among the gainers.

At 9.05am, the benchmark index rose 3.67 points to 1,681.52.

The early gainers included Rubberex, Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd, Top Glove Corp Bhd, Supermax Corp Bhd, Adventa, Careplus, Comfort Gloves and Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd.

Bloomberg said stocks in Asia began Wednesday’s session with diverging moves, with U.S. equities earlier closing above their February highs for the first time since the pandemic upended financial markets. Hong Kong’s equity market faces delays due to a typhoon.

The dollar edged lower and was at the lowest in more than two years, it said.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd in its daily market report said Wall Street appears to be ignoring the fundamentals as US equities continued to trend higher.

It said though the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 67 points to 27,780, the broader S&P 500 closed at a record high to almost the 3,390 level.

“Nonetheless, we expect the regional market to remain cautious following a week of consolidation.

“Locally, the FBM KLCI improved by 17 points to close at around the 1,580 mark due to some late buying on glove counters.

“In view of this, we believe the buying momentum to continue today with the benchmark index possibly testing the 1,590 level again,” it said.