KUALA LUMPUR: The benchmark FBM KLCI rebounded more than 10 points at the starting line on Thursday following a dovish US consumer price report that surprised investors.
The subsequent rally on Wall Street, especially in technology stocks - after days of investors wallowing in the belief the US Federal Reserve will take all rate cuts off the table in 2025 - sent global investor sentiment in equities bouncing back.
In Malaysia, the FBM KLCI started 10.49 points higher at 1,572.61, snapping the rout that had gripped the market over the last three trading days.
However, the index remained about 80 points off its Dec 31, 2024, closing level, tracking the bearish turn in global equities in light of the tariffs and trade restrictions proposed by the incoming Trump administration.
Rakuten Trade, in its latest daily market outlook, posited that the recent slump in Malaysian stock values could be owing to foreign funds offloading their position ahead of Trump's inauguration on Jan 20, as they await more details on his tariff policies.
This view tracks with the 12 straight weeks of net foreign outflow from Bursa Malaysia recorded as at the close of the previous trading week.
"As we moved half-way into January, the index has already lost 5%.
"Nonetheless, we believe this presents an excellent opportunity to accumulate shares thus expect the index to hover within the 1,565-1,580 range today," said the research firm.
Meanwhile, Malacca Securities Research said bargain-hunting activities are expected to emerge in the local technology sectors.
"This is expected to also benefit the EMS sector despite President Joe Biden's recent announcement curbing the export of AI chips," it said in a note.
The research firm said the technical resistance levels stood at 1,577 to 1,582, and support at 1,542 to 1,547.
Leading counters that ticked higher in early trade included MPI jumping 42 sen to RM22.98, Tenaga climbing 20 sen to RM13.70, Kuala Lumpur Kepong rising 18 sen to RM20.84 and CIMB adding 11 sen to RM7.96.
Crest Builder topped the actives list with 138.28 million shares traded, rising 5.5 sen to 33.5 sen.
Velocity gained 0.5 sen to 8.5 sen after 32.8 million units done, and Swift Energy was flat at 37 sen with 5.6 million shares changing hands.
