KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 2): The FBM KLCI edged up marginally in early trade today lifted by select blue chips but gains are seen limited with a downside bias.

At 9am, the FBM KLCI edged up 0.40 points to 1,634.33.

The early gainers included PPB Group Bhd, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd, Malaysia Building Society Bhd, SAM Engineering & Equipment Bhd, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd, UMW Holdings Bhd, Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd, MISC Bhd, KESM Industries Bhd and Gamuda Bhd.

Asian shares and the dollar slipped in early trading on Friday, after mixed US data provided little clarity on the timing of the Federal Reserve's expected interest rate hike ahead of a key US jobs report later in the session, according to Reuters.

China's markets will be closed until Oct 8 for the National Golden Week holidays. On Thursday, a pair of manufacturing surveys showed persistent weakness in China's factory sector, although they weren't as bad as some had feared, it said.

JF Apex Securities Research in a market preview today said US markets ended mixed following a lower manufacturing data in Spain and China as well as declines in Apple and biotech stocks.

Similarly, it said European stocks were also mixed after being weighed down by telecom stocks.

“Back home, the FBM KLCI rose 12.89 points to 1,633.93 points.

“Following the mixed performance in the US, we expect the FBM KLCI to hover below the resistance of 1,640 points,” it said.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)