KUALA LUMPUR (May 28): The FBM KLCI ticked up 0.28% in early trade this morning, tracking the modest gains at regional markets.

At 9.05am, the FBM KLCI  was up 4.48 points to 1,605.83.

The early gainers included Nestle (M) Bhd, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, Public Bank Bhd, Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, Maxis Bhd, Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Bhd and Axiata Group Bhd.

Asian stocks chalked modest gains at the open, with no U.S. trading to key off of thanks to the Memorial Day holiday. Treasuries edged higher, according to Bloomberg.

Equity benchmarks in Japan, Australia and South Korea nudged higher after a muted session Monday that saw trading volumes well off typical levels due to market closures in the U.S. and U.K. President Donald Trump’s declaration Monday that the U.S. was “not ready” to reach a trade deal with China had little impact in markets, with the yuan continuing to stabilize in the wake of losses earlier this month. U.S. 10-year yields approached their lowest levels since October 2017, it said.

Kenanga IB Research said Asian markets ended mixed as the on-going US-China trade tensions were masked by Trump’s visit to Japan.

It said back home, the FBMKLCI was up by another 3.03 points or 0.19% to close at 1,601.35. 

“Despite that, the index is still on a downtrend and there is no technical indicator that shows a potential reversal is at play.

“From here, continuous global negative news and overall weak investor sentiment will likely see the index head towards its supports at 1,585 (S1) and 1,570 (S2).

“Conversely, resistance can be identified at 1,630 (R1) and 1,650 (R2) if there is unexpected positive news flow,” it said.