KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia rebounded from yesterday’s losses to trade higher in the early session today, driven by renewed buying interest in selected heavyweights due to lower prices, dealers said.
At 9.15am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 1.50 points to 1,593.02 after opening 2.45 points higher at 1,593.97 compared with yesterday’s close of 1,591.52.
In a research note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd expected the dour sentiments which dominated the market condition yesterday would bring the key index back to around the 1,590 level.
“The pullback was also much steeper-than-expected as we thought that the profit-taking activities could be milder and the key index could hold around the 1,600 points level. After yesterday’s retreat, conditions on Bursa Malaysia is looking frail again and the overnight weakness on the key global indices will also cast a pall over the FBM KLCI’s near term performance.
“Already, the market environment is directionless with the escalating US-China trade dispute affecting sentiments and the latest readings of weak manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMIs), including that of Malaysia’s, fortifying the view that the global economic environment is reeling from the effects of the trade dispute, we see no improvements in the immediate market conditions,” it said.
Hence, it said, the near term weakness look to persist with the support is now lowered to the 1,580 level, followed by the year low of 1,572 points, with the 1,600 points level to be the immediate resistance, followed by the 1,610 level.
Among heavyweights, Maybank was flat at RM8.70, Public Bank rose two sen to RM20.10, Petronas Chemicals went up one sen to RM6.81, IHH Healthcare perked four sen to RM5.80 but TNB slipped two sen to RM13.74.
Of the actives, NETX Holdings and EA Holdings were flat at one sen each, Priceworth International added one sen to six sen while Opcom increased seven sen to 61.5 sen.
On the scoreboard, the FBM Emas Index increased 11.88 points to 11,212.50, the FBMT 100 Index was 12.13 points higher at 11,053.96 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index edged up 14.92 points to 11,736.97.
The FBM Ace went up 14.77 points to 4,457.34 and the FBM 70 jumped 21.98 points to 13,758.05.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index rose 6.14 points to 15,436.05 and the Plantation Index climbed 3.35 points to 6,763.62 while the Industrial Products and Services earned 0.15 of-a-point to 147.05.
On the broader market, gainers edged losers 129 to 110, with 172 counters unchanged, 1,526 untraded and 12 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 192.35 million units worth RM56.85 million. - Bernama
