KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 ― Bursa Malaysia staged a strong rebound to open firmer today, tracking the overnight gains on the Wall Street.

At the 9.05am, key index FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) jumped 10.14 points, or 0.76 per cent to 1,339.02 from 1,328.88 at yesterday’s close.

The key index opened 7.72 points stronger at 1,336.60.

Market breadth was positive, with gainers leading losers 294 to 35, while 99 counters were unchanged, 1,570 untraded and 96 others suspended.

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Turnover stood at 142.76 million worth RM70.45 million.

At yesterday’s close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 690.7 points to finish at 22,327.48, the S&P 500 climbed 85.18 points to 2,626.65 and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 271.77 points to 7,774.15.

In a note today, Public Investment Bank Bhd said the FBM KLCI opened higher as the Dow booked hefty gains yesterday, supported by healthcare companies Johnson & Johnson and UnitedHealth.

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“This is because investors assessed efforts to slow the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic and cushion the economy against the impact of a near lockdown of activity across much of the United States,” it said.

In a separate note, Maybank Investment Bank Research (Maybank IB) said rising palm oil price could offset the sombre mood in the plantation sector, while buying interest could emerge in consumer-related stocks following the recent stimulus package aimed at boosting domestic consumption.

“Technically, we expect the FBM KLCI to range between 1,300 and 1,380 today. Downside supports are at 1,240 and 1,211,” it said.

Among heavyweights, Maybank bagged eight sen to RM7.39, Tenaga added two sen to RM11.82, Public Bank was 24 sen higher at RM16.06, IHH increased four sen to RM5.19 but Maxis slipped five sen to RM5.45.

Of the actives, Vortex and Armada inched up half-a-sen to 5.5 sen and 13.5 sen respectively, Careplus perked two sen to 28.5 sen, UWC advanced five sen to RM1.75 while Trive Property was unchanged at one sen.

Top gainers list was led by Carlsberg which increased 38 sen to RM25.28, Hong Leong Financial and LPI Capital strengthened by 28 sen each to RM14.08 and RM11.70 respectively, Hong Leong Bank was 22 sen better at RM13.64 and United Plantations went up 20 sen to RM24.90.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index accumulated 80.77 points to 9,161.17, the FBM Emas Shariah Index improved 54.79 points to 9,963.75 while the FBMT 100 Index climbed 76.67 points to 9,094.40.

The FBM 70 advanced 121.18 points to 10,502.81 and the FBM Ace was 64.42 points firmer at 3,847.89.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.34 of-a-point to 194.17, the Financial Services Index jumped 163.60 points to 12,300.34 and the Plantation Index was 15.27 points better at 6,058.44. ― Bernama