KUALA LUMPUR (Apr 2): The FBM KLCI erased earlier losses to finish 0.5% or 7.45 points higher at an all-time high of 1,603.78 points on Monday, as sentiments improve ahead of the country's impending general election.
Analysts said technical trading patterns have improved, as investors anticipate the announcement of government projects and other positive updates from policymakers ahead of the election; hence, the anticipation that the gauge could trade higher over the medium and long term.
According to RHB Research Institute Sdn Bhd, the FBM KLCI has the potential to reach fresh highs of between 1,663 and 1,704 points, as buying momentum improves.
"Technically, the gap-up in the index last week and the recent change in the short-term outlook to positive (from negative previously) suggest that the index is resuming its uptrend after a three-week consolidation," RHB wrote in a note on Monday.
The equities barometer had earlier fallen as much as 6.06 points, to an intraday low of 1,590.27 at 9.51am.
Across the local exchange, 1.44 billion shares worth RM1.4 billion changed hands, resulting in 400 gainers and 353 declining stocks, while 324 entities were unchanged.
Top gainer DUTCH LADY MILK INDUSTRIES BHD [] rose RM1.24 sen to close at RM35.50, followed by SMPC Corp Bhd, which was up 35 sen to RM2.20.
Decliners included BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO (M) [] Bhd, which fell 56 sen to RM56.06, while MALPAC HOLDINGS BHD [] was down 15 sen to RM1.50.
Most active was INGENUITY SOLUTIONS BHD [], which traded unchanged at 10.5 sen with some 233 million shares done.
Across Asian indices on Monday, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.26% to 10,109.8 points, South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.76% to 2,029.29 while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.14% to 4,329.27.
Asian markets had found support from better manufacturing updates in China over the weekend. The world's second largest economy's Purchasing Managers' Index, a barometer of the country's manufacturing activity, had risen to 53.1 in March this year, the highest in about a year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Analysts said technical trading patterns have improved, as investors anticipate the announcement of government projects and other positive updates from policymakers ahead of the election; hence, the anticipation that the gauge could trade higher over the medium and long term.
According to RHB Research Institute Sdn Bhd, the FBM KLCI has the potential to reach fresh highs of between 1,663 and 1,704 points, as buying momentum improves.
"Technically, the gap-up in the index last week and the recent change in the short-term outlook to positive (from negative previously) suggest that the index is resuming its uptrend after a three-week consolidation," RHB wrote in a note on Monday.
The equities barometer had earlier fallen as much as 6.06 points, to an intraday low of 1,590.27 at 9.51am.
Across the local exchange, 1.44 billion shares worth RM1.4 billion changed hands, resulting in 400 gainers and 353 declining stocks, while 324 entities were unchanged.
Top gainer DUTCH LADY MILK INDUSTRIES BHD [] rose RM1.24 sen to close at RM35.50, followed by SMPC Corp Bhd, which was up 35 sen to RM2.20.
Decliners included BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO (M) [] Bhd, which fell 56 sen to RM56.06, while MALPAC HOLDINGS BHD [] was down 15 sen to RM1.50.
Most active was INGENUITY SOLUTIONS BHD [], which traded unchanged at 10.5 sen with some 233 million shares done.
Across Asian indices on Monday, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.26% to 10,109.8 points, South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.76% to 2,029.29 while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.14% to 4,329.27.
Asian markets had found support from better manufacturing updates in China over the weekend. The world's second largest economy's Purchasing Managers' Index, a barometer of the country's manufacturing activity, had risen to 53.1 in March this year, the highest in about a year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
