KUALA LUMPUR (June 17): The FBM KLCI dipped in early trade, in line with tha back foot at regional markets, dragged by index-linked blue chips.

At 9.10am, the FBM KLCI dipped 0.47 points to 1,638.16.

The early decliners included Petronas Gas Bhd, Lafarge Malaysia Bhd, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd, Hume Industries Bhd, MISC Bhd, Hong Leong Bank Bhd, Apex Healthcare Bhd and Lingkaran Trans Kota Holdings Bhd.

Asian stocks looked set to start Monday on the back foot ahead of a big week for central-bank policy, according to Bloomberg.

Futures pointed lower in Japan and Hong Kong, though ticked higher in Australia. The S&P 500 Index dipped Friday but ended the week in positive territory. Treasury yields were little changed as upbeat economic data left some doubts about a more dovish position from the Federal Reserve. Securities in Hong Kong will be closely watched after huge street protests over the weekend, it said.

Kenanga IB Research said Last Friday, the Asian stock markets finished the week mixed, following a slid in Hang Seng amid Hong Kong extradition protests.

It said following that, the FBM KLCI lost 5.11 points (-0.31%) to close at 1,638.63, posing a week-on-week loss of 0.65%. 

“Looking ahead, the primary downtrend remains intact as the share remains below its 100-day SMA.

“We observed that the index is in the midst of testing this 100-day SMA.

“Should the index convincingly break above its 100-day SMA, we opine that the outlook could turn bullish. From here, resistances can be found at 1,670 (R1) and 1,705 (R2). Conversely, supports are identified at 1,610 (S1) and 1,585 (S2),” it said.