Stocks on Bursa Malaysia started trading on a stronger footing on Tuesday, Nov 10. Investors bought into the market after US stocks ended sharply higher overnight. Sentiment was also broadly positive across key Asian markets.

The closely watched Dow Jones Industrial Average surged almost 204 points overnight to close at 10,227, the highest level in 13 months. The rally came despite the recent slew of mixed data on the economy. In particular, the latest US unemployment report for October showed bigger-than-expected job losses and the unemployment rate rising to a 26-year high of 10.2%.

Still, investors appear unfazed, opting to look on the positive side of the situation – that governments will keep interest rates near zero and stimulus measures in place to prop up the global economy. In short, cheap money will continue to fuel this rally. Hence, despite misgivings on the pace of the recovery and valuations, many investors are still pouring money into equities and commodities. They believe that the rally still has legs, at least in the short-term.

This could yet turn out to be a risky bet. And investors are probably wise to keep a close watch on upcoming developments for any turn in sentiment. Bellwether indices in major Asian markets closed off their intra-day highs on Tuesday.

On the home front, the FBM KLCI opened at and stayed in positive territory throughout the trading day. The benchmark index closed six points higher at 1,274.1. Market breadth too, was positive for the better part of the day, although the ratio of gainers to losers deteriorated as the day progressed. At the close, advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones by roughly eleven to ten.

About 1.16 billion shares changed hands. Some of the most heavily traded counters for the day include Talam, Nam Fatt, Poh Huat Resources, Multi Sports, KNM and Compugates.