KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 12): The FBM KLCI climbed above the 1,710-point level at mid-morning today after reversing its earlier losses, lifted by select blue chips including Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Sime Darby Bhd and index-linked banking stocks.

At 10am, the FBM KLCI rose 7.07 points to 1,713.61.

The top gainers included Petronas Gas Bhd, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd, Tenaga Nasional, PPB Group Bhd, Public Bank Bhd, Top Glove Corporation Bhd, Sime Darby, Hong Leong Bank Bhd, Aeon Credit Services (M) Bhd and MISC Bhd.

The actives included iDimension Consolidated Bhd, Instacom Group Bhd, XOX Bhd, AirAsia Bhd, KNM Group Bhd, Metronic Holdings Bhd, Tiger Synergy Bhd and AirAsia X Bhd.

The decliners included British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd, Keck Seng (Malaysia) Bhd, Sarawak Oil Palms Bhd, Malayan Banking Bhd, Tan Chong Motor Holdings Bhd and Genting Bhd.

Asian shares edged higher on Monday, consolidating recent rises as late gains in Wall Street on Friday and a rebound in the commodities complex prompted some investors to hunt for bargains while the dollar struggled, according to Reuters.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.1% in early deals, rounding off impressive 10% gains so far this month as investors unwound some of their long US dollar and short commodities and emerging markets trade, it said.

Hong Long IB Research said technically, the decisive breakouts above 1,685 (50% FR) and the downtrend resistance trend line (near 1,663) from the 1,867 highs (Apr 27) signal that the ongoing rebound could potentially climb into the 1,728–1,741 levels in the coming weeks.

“However, after a 13.6% or 204 pts surge from 1,503 (Aug 24 low) to 1,707 on Oct 9, the FBM KLCI may experience some profit taking activities in this holiday-shortened week (Awal Muharram holiday on Oct 14) as indicators are entering into overbought positions.

“Weekly key supports are 1,663–1,685,” 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.)