KUALA LUMPUR:- Bursa Malaysia rebounded from yesterday’s losses to open higher today on bargain hunting amid US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) dovish stance over the interest rate hikes.
At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 4.24 points to 1,688.45 from Wednesday’s close of 1,684.21.
The index opened 3.43 points firmer at 1,687.64.
On the broader market, gainers trounced losers 142 to 59, while 194 counters remained unchanged, 1,497 untraded and 20 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 194.29 million shares worth RM48.37 million.
A dealer said the local bourse has been traded on a downtrend since Tuesday, prompting some market participants to accumulate quality stocks at a cheaper price.
Meanwhile, he said Bursa, in line with most of its regional peers, also reacted positively towards the Fed’s dovish monetary stance following a statement by chairman Jerome Powell that interest rates could be on hold for “some time” as global risks weigh on the economic outlook and inflation remains muted.
Regionally, Singapore’s Strait Times Index leapt 0.22% to 3,214.71, Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.20% to 21,608.92 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was 0.23% higher at 29,387.75.
Of the heavyweights, Tenaga bagged two sen to RM13.04, Petronas Chemicals added six sen to RM9.20, CIMB perked three sen to RM5.42 while Maybank was flat at RM9.47 and Public Bank shrank four sen to RM24.42.
Among the most actives, Dynaciate and Perdana Petroleum ticked up half-a-sen each to 10 sen and 43.5 sen, respectively, Hibiscus went up two sen to RM1.05 while Metronic Global eased half-a- sen to 8.5 sen and its warrant slid two sen to one sen, respectively.
BAT led the gainers list by bagging 16 sen to RM34.76 while top loser, UMW erasing 13 sen to RM5.66.
The FBM Emas Index accumulated 27.97 points to 11,788.23, the FBMT 100 Index climbed 28.02 points to 11,642.06, the FBM Emas Shariah Index strengthened 37.50 points to 11,825.79 and the FBM 70 was 29.20 points better at 14,194.75.
The FBM Ace Index, however, shed 3.51 points to 4,797.39.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index elevated 31.93 points to 17,476.56, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.54 of-a-point to 170.49 and the Plantation Index was 17.35 points higher at 7,321.49.
The physical price of gold as at 9.30am stood at RM166.24 per gramme, up RM1.37 from RM164.87 at 5pm yesterday. — Bernama
