KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 ― Bursa Malaysia remained higher at mid-morning today, boosted by bargain hunting after the sharp losses yesterday.

At 11.00am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 6.92 points to 1,537.84 from yesterday's close of 1,530.92.

It opened 1.29 points higher at 1,545.87.

On the broader market, gainers led losers 523 to 302, while 373 counters were unchanged, 1,077 untraded and 15 others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 1.61 billion units worth RM870.67 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd said the knee-jerk reaction towards Budget 2022 resulted in a sharp decline on the FBM KLCI as the market undertone turned bearish.

"For today, we reckon the local bourse to experience sustained selling pressure as the outlook for the local bourse has largely turned negative.

"Although bargain hunting may emerge, any upside may be countered by selling activities as we expect the unloading of equities to continue. We foresee the index to hover within the 1,525-1,535 range,” it added.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank, Public Bank and IHH Healthcare added two sen each to RM8.01, RM4.06 and RM6.50, respectively, Tenaga gained one sen to RM6.50, while Petronas Chemicals eased one sen to RM8.34.

Of the actives, Dagang Nexchange bagged 2.5 sen to 79.5 sen, Dagang Nexchange warrant edged up half-a-sen to 5.5 sen and Top Builder slipped three sen to 2.5 sen, while Kanger International and TA Win were flat at four sen and 15.5 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased 58.34 points to 11,388.51, the FBMT 100 Index rose 51.32 points to 11,010.82, the FBM 70 went up 77.19 points to 15,046.98, the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 65.09 points to 12,431.16, and the FBM ACE firmed 44.25 points to 7,094.48.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 1.23 points to 203.37, the Plantation Index rose 73.47 points to 6,786.88, and the Financial Services Index advanced 47.08 points to 15,204.35. ― Bernama