KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia rebounded in early trade Thursday, reversing yesterday’s sell-off as Wall Street's positive overnight close lifted market sentiment.
The FBM KLCI rose 7.4 points, or 0.45% to 1,647.20 at 9.14 am. The index opened 4.24 points higher at 1,644.04.
Overnight, all three major U.S. stock indexes closed higher, helped by gains in the technology sector, which offset investor disappointment with the latest U.S. inflation numbers.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.31% to 40,861.71, the S&P 500 gained 1.07% to 5,554.13 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 2.17% to 17,395.53.
Inter-Pacific Research said the FBM KLCI’s undertone remains firm for the most part, as the key index has managed to preserve the bulk of its year-to-date gains despite the recent choppy market conditions.
The research house noted that the positive outlook remains intact for now, supported by expectations of a stronger economy. With global equities rebounding overnight, the FBM KLCI could also bounce back and regain some momentum.
“While a rebound is in the offing, the upsides may still be relatively benign due to the prevailing low market following.
“Therefore, the key index could recover to around the 1,642-1,647 levels for now, followed by the 1,650 level. On the other hand, the supports are at 1,635 and 1,630 points respectively,” Inter-Pacific said.
Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade anticipates a quick rebound, with the FBM KLCI expected to hover between 1,640 and 1,650 today.
Among the gainers on Bursa Malaysia, Malaysian Pacific Industries
jumped 52 sen to RM27.34, Heineken added 22 sen to RM22.78, Sam Engineering rose 15 sen to RM4.07 and United Plantations gained 10 sen to RM27.12.
Hong Leong Bank slid 18 sen to RM21.32, APB Resources fell 12 sen to RM1.12, PETRONAS Gas gave up 10 sen to RM17.88 and Carlsberg declined eight sen to RM19.38.
