KUALA LUMPUR (April 16): The FBM KLCI clawed back to erase its earlier loss at the midday break Thursday, lifted by select blue chips including Tenaga Nasional Bhd, while regional markets fell on the back of dire economic data from the United States.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI added 0.07% or 0.91 points to 1,388.70. The index had earlier fallen to a low 1,378.30.

Gainers led losers by 341 to 198, while 522 counters traded unchanged. Trading volume was 2.47 billion shares valued at RM1.09 billion.

The gainers included Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, Ajinomoto (M) Bhd, LPI Capital Bhd, Tenaga, Bursa Malaysia Bhd, Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd, Muda Holdings Bhd, Hong Leong Industries Bhd, Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Bhd and Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd.

The actives included Lambo Group Bhd, Xidelang Holdings Ltd, Serba Dinamik, Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd, NetX Holdings Bhd, Bumi Armada Bhd, mTouche Technology Bhd, Minetech Resources Bhd, Careplus Group Bhd and Sanichi Technology Bhd.

The decliners included Nestle (M) Bhd, Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd, Allianz Malaysia Bhd, Perusahaan Sadur Timah Malaysia (Perstima) Bhd, Hong Leong Bank Bhd, Petronas Dagangan Bhd, Westports Holdings Bhd, Sarawak Oil Palms Bhd and Aeon Credit Service (M) Bhd.

Reuters said Southeast Asian stock markets fell on Thursday, with Philippines shares losing as much as 4%, as investor sentiment was hurt by dire economic data from the United States and prospects of extensive damage to Asia as a fallout of the coronavirus outbreak.

US retail sales suffered their steepest drop on record last month and output at factories declined by the most since 1946 — reinforcing fears that the economy contracted in the first quarter at its sharpest pace in decades, it said.

Kenanga IB Research said Asian stocks ended mixed yesterday as investors continued to focus on the development of the Covid-19 outbreak and its impact on the economy.

It said back home, the FBM KLCI rose 16.13 points or 1.18% to finish at 1,387.79.

“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 remain at 1,360 (S1) and 1,310 (S2). This comes as the benchmark index — which is hovering just slightly above our first support level — may continue to ride on the technical rebound towards 1,400 (R1).

“Should the momentum persist, the FBM KLCI could attempt to close the gap on the chart (that was opened in mid-March) to test the second resistance level of 1,420 (R2),” it said.