KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 — Bursa Malaysia rebounded from last week’s losses to open higher today, supported by renewed buying in selected heavyweights in line with positive sentiment on regional markets, dealers said.
At 9.32am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased 5.27 points or 0.34 per cent to 1,554.39 from Friday’s close of 1,549.12.
The benchmark index opened 4.03 points higher at 1,5523.15.
On the broader market, gainers led losers 263 to 245, while 864 counters were unchanged, 925 untraded, and 22 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.06 billion units worth RM311.63 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd, in a research note today, said investors may watch out for Malaysia’s inflation rate and the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes this week.
“Given buying the dip move on Wall Street, we expect some bargain-hunting activities to emerge on the local front, especially in technology stocks,” it said.
Last week, the research firm said the FBM KLCI underperformed its regional peers, due largely to final-hour selldown in selected banking and commodity-related heavyweights.
“We remained positive on the recovery-themed sector despite worries over inflation. Besides, the energy sector should remain robust, supported by the elevated crude oil price. Technology stocks may see a potential rebound amid bargain hunting on Wall Street,” it added.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank and IHH Healthcare added 3.0 sen to RM8.99 and 6.56, respectively, Public Bank went up 2.0 sen to RM4.54, while Petronas Chemicals declined 2.0 sen to RM9.97 and TNB slipped 1.0 sen to RM9.23.
Of the actives, Sapura Energy advanced 2.0 sen to 9.0 sen, MQ Tech earned half-a-sen to 6.0 sen, Serba Dinamik fell 1.5 sen to 12 sen, while KNM eased half-a-sen to 19.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM ACE gained 2.35 points to 5,345.44, the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 45.66 points to 11,574.93, the FBM Emas Index improved 39.65 points to 11,111.02, the FBMT 100 Index bagged 39.99 points to 10,775.06, and the FBM 70 strengthened 65.31 points to 13,240.53.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.78 of-a-point higher at 200.15, the Financial Services Index advanced 54.15 points to 16,615.85, while the Plantation Index slid 9.95 points to 8,247.85. — Bernama
