KUALA LUMPUR (April 8): The FBM KLCI pared some of its loss at the midday break, while trading volume surged to more than 3 billion shares, against the backdrop of generally weaker regional markets as the death toll from Covid-19 continued to climb around the world.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was down 6.04 points to 1,363.88. The index had earlier fallen to a low of 1,358.33.

The broader market sentiment remained tepid with 326 losers and 286 counters, while 498 counters traded unchanged. Trading volume was again somewhat hefty with 3.12 billion shares valued at RM1.33 billion.

The top losers included Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, Nestle (M) Bhd, Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, Sime Darby Plantation Bhd, Apex Healthcare Bhd, Tenaga Nasional Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, Pentamaster Corp Bhd, Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd and Hong Leong Bank Bhd.

The actives included Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd, Ekovest Bhd, Vortex Consolidated Bhd, Bumi Armada Bhd and Lambo Group Bhd.

The gainers included Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Bhd, Pintaras Jaya Bhd, Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd, Hartalega Holdings Bhd, UMW Holdings Bhd, Hong Leong Industries Bhd and Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd.

Reuters said Southeast Asian stock markets fell on Wednesday after two sessions of sharp gains, as the death toll from the new coronavirus continued to climb across the globe even though infections showed signs of a slowdown.

New York state suffered the highest daily loss of life from Covid-19 on Tuesday, even as the number of hospitalisations seemed to be levelling off, it said.

Kenanga IB Research said Asian stocks finished higher yesterday as investors sentiment was boosted by better Covid-19 data.

It said back home, the FBM KLCI gained 28.23 points or 2.1% to finish at 1,369.92.

“Chart-wise, the index remains below its key SMAs. Nonetheless, coupled with a bullish MACD signal, we may see a continuation of recent intermittent technical rebounds from an oversold position.

“On the chart, our support levels are at 1,310 (S1) and 1,240 (S2).

“Conversely, pending further confirmation following yesterday's last-minute surge to close at its intra-day high of 1,369.92, our resistance levels remain at 1,360 (R1) and 1,400 (R2),” it said.