KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 7 — Bursa Malaysia recouped earlier losses, with the key index rebounding into the positive territory, as risk appetite in the local market improved following news that the general election should only be held after the Covid-19 pandemic is under control.

At 3.08pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 2.06 points to 1,594.03.

On the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers by 880 to 310, while 671 counters were unchanged, 222 untraded and 14 others suspended.

Volume stood at 5.02 billion units worth RM3.47 billion.

Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) is of the opinion that the 15th general election should only be held once the Covid-19 pandemic is under control and has vastly improved.

This was decided at the party’s Supreme Council meeting chaired by Prime Minister and Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin last night.

Party information chief Wan Saiful Wan Jan in a statement issued after the meeting said Bersatu’s main agenda now is to focus all efforts and energy to address the Covid-19 pandemic and revive the country’s economy.

On the local bourse, heavyweights Public Bank perked up two sen to RM20.36, Tenaga bagged six sen to RM10.48, and Top Glove increased four sen to RM5.80.

Maybank dipped nine sen to RM8.15, Petronas Chemicals trimmed five sen to RM7.05 while IHH Healthcare eased four sen to RM5.51.

Of the actives, AT Systematization and Dynaciate were both flat at 17.5 sen and 12.5 sen respectively, Iris put on two sen to 39 sen, while Advance Synergy shed 2.5 sen to 15.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 25.38 points lower at 11,454.11, the FBMT 100 Index decreased 24.6 points to 11,199.19, the FBM 70 declined 184.76 points to 14,478.67, and the FBM ACE erased 43.78 points to 10,521.5.

However, the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 17.47 points to 12,865.89,

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index decreased 82.22 points to 14,888.15, the Industrial Products and Services Index slipped 1.13 points to 171.44, but the Plantation Index rose 50.68 points to 7,397.85. — Bernama