KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia climbed in early trade on Friday, tracking Wall Street's gains and buoyed by bargain hunting after recent losses.
The FBM KLCI rose 3.22 points, or 0.2 to 1,603.90 at 9.16 am. The index opened 0.75 of a point higher at 1,601.43 earlier.
Bank Negara is expected to release the third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data at noon today.
Reuters reports that Malaysia's economic growth likely slowed modestly in the third quarter compared to a year earlier, with strong private consumption and construction activity offsetting the decline in mining output, according to a poll of economists.
Among the gainers on Bursa Malaysia, Dutch Lady
rose 60 sen to RM29.46, Lysaght Galvanized Steel added 36 sen to RM3.06, Malaysian Pacific Industries gained 16 sen to RM25.46 and United Plantations climbed 14 sen to RM30.72.
MISC slid 15 sen to RM7.80, BAT fell 12 sen to RM7.69, Kuala Lumpur Kepong declined 10 sen to RM22.30 and Heineken eased 10 sen to RM23.80.
Metro Healthcare, which transferred its listing from the LEAP Market to the ACE Market today, rose by one sen to 26 sen, with 40.98 mil shares traded.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.47% to 43,750.86, the S&P 500 lost 0.60% to 5,949.17 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 123.07 points, or 0.64%, to 19,107.65.
Rakuten Trade believes a swift rebound for the FBM KLCI to occur as levels below 1,600 should entice bargain hunters hence expect it to hover within the 1,600-1,610 range today.
Meanwhile, TA Securities noted that stocks are likely to remain range-bound ahead of the weekend, as ongoing concerns over China's economic growth and US-China trade tensions weigh on market sentiment.
“On the index, a breakdown below the key 200-day moving average support of 1,596 would slide towards the next support at 1,575, the 76.4% FR level.
“Immediate resistance remains the recent high of 1,648, with the next upside hurdles seen at 1,660 and 1,675,” TA said.
