KUALA LUMPUR (March 2): Bursa Malaysia rebounded to open higher on the back of brisk buying momentum on the broader market and a stronger Wall Street performance overnight.
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At 9.06am, the benchmark FBM KLCI had advanced 6.19 points, or 0.4%, to 1,573.33 from 1,567.14 at yesterday’s close.
The key index opened 4.89 points higher at 1,572.03.
On the broader market, gainers led losers 374 to 178, while 319 counters were unchanged, 1,282 untraded and 14 others suspended.
Total volume stood at 713.8 million units worth RM304.19 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd said the KLCI would likely succumb again to drastic selling of glove stocks.
“Though we expect a broader based buying today, the KLCI performance may be negated by the continuous selldown on glove companies. Therefore, we foresee the benchmark index to trend within the 1,575-80 range today as bargain-hunting activities should emerge after yesterday’s dismal showing,” it said in a research note.
Regionally, Rakuten Trade believes regional markets will improve further today after yesterday’s rather solid performance as Wall Street rebounded sharply overnight following days of decline amid the uncertainty over rates.
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Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) had gained six sen to RM8.12, Public Bank Bhd added three sen to RM4.23, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) advanced eight sen to RM10.40, IHH Healthcare Bhd increased five sen to RM5.34, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd rose nine sen to RM4.31, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PetChem) was flat at RM7.51 and Petronas Gas Bhd (PetGas) declined two sen to RM16.26.
Among glove stocks, Top Glove Corp Bhd trimmed 10 sen to RM4.80, Hartalega Holdings Bhd eased two sen to RM9.36 and Supermax Corp Bhd lost 17 sen to RM4.19.
Of the actives, GFM Services Bhd improved 6.5 points to 47 sen, Straits Inter Logistics Bhd was 3.5 sen higher at 23.5 sen and MSM Malaysia Holdings Bhd appreciated four sen to RM1.32, while Pegasus Heights Bhd was flat at two sen, whereas EA Holdings Bhd and Jadi Imaging Holdings Bhd inched down half a sen each to four sen and 13 sen respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index bagged 51.02 points to 11,613.23, the FBMT 100 Index improved 48.74 points to 11,297.03 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 35.04 points higher at 12,923.84.
The FBM 70 widened 83.52 points to 15,556.85 and the FBM ACE expanded 98.54 points to 10,803.91.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.29 of a point to 184.41 and the Plantation Index decreased 15.23 points to 7,136.96.
The Financial Services Index surged 118.66 points to 15,078.31.- The Edge Market