Bursa Malaysia rebounded to open marginally higher on Friday, as easing US Treasury yields and a measured tone from the Federal Reserve provided some relief to market sentiment.
At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 1.49 points, or 0.09%, to 1,631.85 from Thursday’s close of 1,630.36.
The index opened 3.51 points higher at 1,633.87.
On the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 239 to 137, with 270 counters unchanged, 2,127 untraded and 24 suspended.
Turnover stood at 173.94 million shares worth RM95.98 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the latest decline had pushed the index back into oversold territory, which could have encouraged bargain hunting following the sharp correction.
“Against the reported foreign-selling backdrop, however, we believe any initial rebound may remain modest.
“Nonetheless, the weakness presents opportunities to selectively accumulate fundamentally sound stocks, particularly among established banks, utilities and semiconductor counters,” he noted.
Thong said a more sustainable recovery would require stronger participation from heavyweight counters and an improvement in market breadth.
Thus, he expects cautious trading today within the 1,625-1,640 range.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank was flat at RM9.95, while Public Bank and CIMB fell one sen to RM4.66 and RM7.68, respectively. Tenaga Nasional added four sen to RM12.94 and IHH Healthcare rose one sen to RM7.71.
In active trade, Zetrix AI, Jaks Resources and Genetec all remained unchanged at 16.5 sen, 18 sen and 32.5 sen, respectively. V.S Industry gained one sen to 28 sen, but Kinergy Advancement lost half a sen to 39.5 sen.
Among the top gainers, Malaysian Pacific Industries advanced 58 sen to RM41.70, Hengyuan Refining inched up 19 sen to RM3.83, Petronas Chemicals perked up 15 sen to RM4.28, while UWC and MI Technovation both firmed 10 sen to RM7.20 and RM5.36, respectively.
MISC led the decliners, falling 14 sen to RM7.54, while LPI Capital, Hong Leong Industries, MNRB and RHB Bank shed four sen each to RM12.80, RM16.10, RM2.78 and RM7.43, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index ticked up 75.93 points to 17,434.91, the FBM Emas Index appreciated 17.18 points to 12,160.71, and the FBM Top 100 Index widened 21.58 points to 11,954.73.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index accumulated 34.76 points to 12,047.77, while the FBM ACE Index improved 18.61 points to 5,501.58.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index grew 1.10 points to 178.83, while the Energy Index gained 9.45 points to 844.46. The Financial Services Index fell 26.33 points to 19,034.58, while the Plantation Index ticked up 2.75 points to 9,029.32.
