KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 6): The main index of Bursa Malaysia reversed its earlier loss and pushed higher to move firmly above the 1,500-point threshold in the mid-morning, lifted by gains including for Public Bank Bhd, as investors kept an eye on Budget 2021 that will be unveiled later today.

At 10am, the FBM KLCI had risen 9.38 points to 1,510.87. The index earlier slipped to a low of 1,497.32.

Market breadth was positive with 501 gainers and 296 losers, while 415 counters traded unchanged. Trading volume was 2.19 billion shares valued at RM1.16 billion.

The top gainers included Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, ViTrox Corp Bhd, Supermax Corp Bhd and Public Bank.

The actively traded stocks included AT Systematization Bhd, Iris Corp Bhd, JCY International Bhd, Lambo Group Bhd, Mah Sing Group Bhd and Luster Industries Bhd.

The decliners included Greatech Technology Bhd, QL Resources Bhd, GHL Systems Bhd, JF Technology Bhd, MISC Bhd, Dialog Group Bhd and Ipmuda Bhd.

Reuters said a gauge of Asian shares was set to cling to a near three-year peak, while the US dollar stayed sluggish today as the prospect of a divided US legislature dimmed the chance of major policy changes, lifting risk appetite.

Brushing aside the uncertainty of an exceedingly close US presidential election, investors overnight snapped up riskier assets such as the Australian dollar, which jumped to a six-week high before running into profit taking in early Asian trade, it said.

Rakuten Trade said Wall Street continued its rally as the US election results drew near with markets pricing in Biden's victory.

It said US futures were higher today with news of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) expected to hold rates steady and highlight that more fiscal support and stimulus are needed.

“Regional markets are expected to continue with the positive sentiment taking its cue from bullish US markets yesterday.

“On our local market, yesterday saw a broad-based pre-budget rally with our KLCI back to above 1,500 and we expect follow-through buying today.

“Hence, investors should take positions for trading opportunities as CPO (crude palm oil) prices [go] above [the] RM3,200 level, [when] plantation stocks will be the prime beneficiaries, while healthcare-related, PPE (personal protective equipment) [and] mask-related stocks will also be in focus as more places are under the CMCO (conditional movement control order) with Covid-19 numbers continuing to be high,” it said.