Kuala Lumpur:Bursa Malaysia's key index opened higher on Wednesday, driven by bargain hunting following recent losses, despite negative signals from Wall Street.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased by 4.34 points, or 0.26 percent, reaching 1,648.30 at 9.10 am, recovering from Tuesday's close of 1,643.96. The index began the day 2.53 points higher at 1,646.49.
In the broader market, decliners outnumbered gainers 214 to 174, with 293 counters remaining unchanged, 2,174 untraded, and 95 suspended. The turnover was recorded at 265.65 million shares valued at RM151.82 million.
Thong Pak Leng, vice-president of equity research at Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd, noted that the market is becoming increasingly oversold, presenting opportunities for selective accumulation in fundamentally strong blue-chip stocks. He added that any recovery might be limited unless foreign selling decreases and banking heavyweights receive more support. Thong also pointed out that energy, renewable infrastructure, and certain defensive stocks could perform well, whereas technology stocks remain vulnerable due to high global yields. He predicted a cautious trading session, with bargain hunting around 1,640, keeping the index within the 1,635-1,655 range.
Among heavyweights, Maybank rose three sen to RM10.02, Public Bank gained two sen to RM4.74, while CIMB fell two sen to RM7.76. Tenaga Nasional increased by 10 sen to RM12.82, and IHH Healthcare remained steady at RM7.87.
In active trading, Zetrix AI added half a sen to 17 sen, V.S Industry gained 1.5 sen to 25 sen, Visdynamics expanded 10 sen to 52 sen, while Cuscapi stayed at five sen, and Gamuda gained 13 sen to RM5.11.
Leading gainers included Allianz Malaysia and MISC, both advancing 14 sen to RM21 and RM7.74, respectively. Hong Leong Industries moved up 10 sen to RM16.60, while MI Technovation and UMS Integration both increased by nine sen to RM5.48 and RM8.70.
Eurospan led the losers, dropping 29 sen to RM2.95, followed by Petronas Dagangan, which lost 28 sen to RM19.04. Aeon Credit edged down 14 sen to RM5.05, while Dutch Lady and Hong Leong Bank decreased by 12 sen each to RM29.88 and RM23.16, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index fell 21.36 points to 17,588.72, while the FBM Emas Index rose 19.22 points to 12,284.69. The FBM Top 100 Index improved by 19.81 points to 12,071.35, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased by 25.02 points to 12,152.63. The FBM ACE Index decreased by 4.12 points to 5,524.46.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index slipped 0.36 of a point to 180.50, while the Energy Index fell 4.42 points to 864.28. The Financial Services Index gained 10.43 points to 19,271.29, and the Plantation Index added 1.86 points to 9,218.20.