KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 20): The FBM KLCI continued trending upwards to close above its previous month's high of 1,604.95, buoyed by elevated crude oil and FCPO prices as well as continued buying interest in constituents such as Top Glove Corp Bhd, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, and Public Bank Bhd.

At 5pm, the benchmark index gained 0.35 point or 0.02% to close at 1,606.32, after opening higher at 1,611.83 before dipping to an intraday low of 1,601.31.

The local bourse saw a total of 4.3 billion shares worth RM3.11 billion traded on Wednesday compared with 4.61 billion shares worth RM2.91 billion on Monday.

Market breadth was negative as 511 gainers were outnumbered by 616 decliners with 450 counters unchanged.

Areca Capital chief executive officer Danny Wong said that overall, the market was largely unchanged with buying interest in select banks, industrials and electrical & electronics counters. He noted that globally, the market is waiting for the US labour statistics and PMI figures this week while domestically, the market is looking out for the Budget 2022 announcement next week.

In a note, Hong Leong Investment Bank analyst Ng Jun Sheng said that the benchmark index saw net selling from local institutions and retail investors of RM216 million and RM22 million respectively while foreign fund flows saw net buying of RM238 million on Monday.

"On the backdrop of higher Wall Street, the economic recovery optimism following the relaxation on interstate travel and reopening of international borders coupled with the elevated commodity prices, KLCI finally breached the previous high of 1,605 (Sept 1) to end at 1,606 on Oct 18. In the wake of the steeply overbought stochastic readings after a sharp 91-pt rally from a low of 1,515 (Oct 5), the benchmark may start to consolidate its gains in the near term. Although it is too early to call for a top here, we think further upside may be capped at 1,614-1,623 zone. Key pullback supports are pegged at 1,574-1,590 territory," wrote Ng.

He added that with most states going into Phases 3 and 4 of the National Recovery Plan and the about 93% adult vaccination rate as of Oct 18 on the back of the strengthening commodity prices, it will see the KLCI progress further.

The top gainers by value were Genetec Technology Bhd, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd and DKSH Holdings (Malaysia) Bhd, while the top losers were PMB Technology Bhd, Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd and Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd. The most actively traded stock on Wednesday was Daya Materials Bhd, which saw 126.09 million shares change hands following Bursa's approval of its regularisation plan.

Regionally, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.14%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 1.35% while South Korea's Kospi declined 0.53%.