Kuala Lumpur: Bursa Malaysia edged higher in early trading, snapping a two-day losing streak as bargain hunters stepped in despite a weak overnight session on Wall Street.
At 9.06am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.55 points to 1,581.22 from Thursday’s close of 1,577.67.
The benchmark index opened 2.25 points higher at 1,579.92.
On the broader market, decliners outpaced gainers 150 to 144, with 275 counters unchanged, 1,783 untraded and 21 suspended. Turnover fell to 241.01 million shares worth RM86.37 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd head of research Kenny Yee Shen Pin said Wall Street declined after a lacklustre forecast from retail giant Walmart, with concerns over the US economic outlook further weighing on sentiment.
As a result, the US 10-year treasury yield eased to 4.507%, he noted.
“On the home front, the FBM KLCI remained under pressure, closing below the 1,580 level. The index has been retreating over the past week from the 1,600 mark.
“Hence, we believe bargain-hunting opportunities should emerge soon. Today, we expect the index to move within the 1,575-1,585 range,” he said in a note.
Among heavyweights, Maybank fell 2 sen to RM10.42, CIMB lost 10 sen to RM8.34, while Public Bank gained 1 sen to RM4.50. Tenaga Nasional added 6 sen to RM13.86, and IHH Healthcare was unchanged at RM7.21.
Ingenieur Gudang was the most actively traded stock, flat at 5.5 sen. TWL Holdings edged up 0.5 sen to 2.5 sen, YTL Corporation rose 6 sen to RM2.09, while Aizo Group and Aimflex fell 0.5 sen each to nine sen and 11 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM emas index rose 16.32 points to 11,930.31, the FBMT 100 Index added 17.57 points to 11,664.58, and the FBM emas shariah index gained 22.70 points to 11,613.82.
The FBM 70 index slipped 7.90 points to 17,361.09, but the FBM ACE index advanced 9.17 points to 4,929.70.
By sector, the financial services index eased 4.95 points to 19,265.85, while the industrial products and services index inched up 0.07 of-a-point to 161.27. The plantation index rose 12.32 points to 7,404.62, while the energy index lost 2.19 points to 777.76.
