KUALA LUMPUR: Blue chips advanced early Monday led by Petronas Dagangan while the broader market was firmer but Perdana Petroleum tumbled when it resumed trading.At 9.20am, the KLCI was up 1.93 points or 0.11% to 1,755. Turnover was 239.73 million shares valued at RM112.70mil. There were 216 gainers, 123 losers and 226 counters unchanged.MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.14%, after US stocks ended the previous session with mild gains . Japanese stocks rose 0.96%, Reuters reported.Kenanga Investment Bank Research expects the KLCI to take a short pause after the recent gains where there may be near-term consolidation between (S1) support at 1,750 and upper (R1) resistance at 1,765 until the RSI moderates.“Thereafter, any decisive breakthrough from R1 may lead to a bullish advancement toward 1,800 (R2). Conversely, 1,729 (S2) could be the next support should S1 is broken,” it said.Reuters reported oil markets were stable on Monday, hovering around Friday's levels as a lack of conclusive market indicators prevented prices from swinging either way.US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at US$57.33 a barrel at 0105 GMT, up three cents from their last settlement.

Source: The Star December 18, 2017 01:41 UTC