KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI moved cautiously higher, en route to a third straight day of gains as the government's decision to ease movement restrictions in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor helped to alleviate anxieties over the duration of the lockdown.

At 12.30pm, the key index was up 4.23 points to 1,526.71, helped along also by the ramping up of the ongoing vaccination programme.

However, Kenanga Research expects the index to remain under selling pressure, testing the 1,510 level again after bouncing off the support several times last week.

"This comes as the benchmark index may back off further from the 25-day SMA line and the descending trendline.

"On the upside, 1,550 (R1) is our immediate resistance barrier to cap any intermittent rebound for the key market bellwether," it said in a its weekly technical note.

Among the leading gainers on the blue-chip index, IHH was up eight sen to RM5.77 and Tenaga rose 10 sen to RM9.80 while Petronas Gas jumped 16 sen to RM15.78.

CTOS was in the spotlight on its debut on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia, surging 52 sen to RM1.62 on the back of 256.6 million shares traded.

The stock was the most actively traded of the day, followed by Saudee down two sen to 22 sen and DNEX up one sen to 76 sen.

In Asian markets, equities took a step back amid a surge in coronavirus cases and oil oversupply worries.

Japan's Nikkei fell 1.4% and South Korea's Kospi dropped 0.9%.

In China, Shanghai's composite index dropped 0.3% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng slid 1.6%.

Australia's ASX200 fell 0.9%.