KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 30): The FBM KLCI reversed its earlier losses and climbed higher at mid-morning, looking poised to extend its gains on year-end window-dressing activities.

At 10am, the FBM KLCI gained 0.32 points to 1,610.93. The index had earlier slipped to a low of 1,608.76.

Gainers led losers by 273 to 244, while 316 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 648.05 million shares valued at RM244.2 million.

The gainers included Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Allianz Malaysia Bhd, Sarawak Oil Palms Bhd, Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, Perusahaan Sadur Timah Malaysia (Perstima) Bhd, Harn Len Corp Bhd, TSH Holdings Bhd, UMW Holdings Bhd and MyNews Holdings Bhd.

The actives included Dynaciate Group Bhd, Sapura Energy Bhd, TDM Bhd, Eduspec Holdings Bhd, Dolphin International Bhd, TH Heavy Engineering Bhd, Icon Offshore Bhd and KNM Group Bhd.

The decliners included Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd, Scientex Bhd, IHH Healthcare Bhd, Malayan Cement Bhd and Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd.

Bloomberg said Asian stocks drifted lower on Monday from the highest level in a year and a half, with few financial-market catalysts going into the year-end.

Equities in Tokyo opened weaker, while they fell in Sydney and were little changed in Seoul. US futures edged up after stocks ended Friday mixed as traders assessed a rally that's added more than US$5 trillion (RM20.58 trillion) to equities this year. The S&P 500 Index notched a fifth straight weekly advance. Treasuries were steady after rising on Friday, when the US dollar logged its biggest drop since October, it said.

Kenanga IB Research said last Friday, most of the Asian stocks ended higher, tracking Wall Street's record highs.

It said likewise, the FBM KLCI reversed its previous losses by gaining 7.06 points (+0.44%) to close at 1,610.61.

"Chart-wise, the index is still holding itself to trade above all of its key SMAs.

"Coupled with a bullish signal from MACD, there may be more upside potential.

"From here, we expect the index to test resistance levels at 1,630 (R1) and 1,650 (R2). Meanwhile, support levels to watch out for are 1,550 (S1) and 1,540 (S2)," it said.