KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 2): Bursa Malaysia rebounded from the strong broad-based selldown on Tuesday (Jan 31) to open higher on Thursday morning, supported by bargain-hunting activities, a dealer said.

At 9.36am, the benchmark FBM KLCI had advanced 5.42 points to 1,490.92, from Tuesday's close at 1,485.50.

The key index opened 3.32 points stronger at 1,488.82.    

Market breadth was also positive, with gainers leading losers 282 to 129, while 284 counters were unchanged, 1,478 untraded, and 11 others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 265.63 million units worth RM157.99 million.

The market was closed on Wednesday for the Federal Territory Day holiday.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the benchmark index fell below 1,490 on Tuesday, due to market uncertainty brought on by the US Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting.

“However, we reckon that bargain-hunting activities would return, thus expect the index to trend in the 1,490-1,500 range today (Thursday), and the tech sector to see a strong recovery.

“Meanwhile, crude oil prices weakened on higher inventory data, as the Brent crude declined to US$83 per barrel,” he said in a note.

Globally, Thong said Wall Street recovered strongly, following the Fed’s 25-basis-point hike, as the Dow Jones Index Average added seven points, and the Nasdaq jumped by 232 points, with the US 10-year yield easing to below 3.42%.

“Regionally, Hong Kong’s equities also rebounded, buoyed by tech stocks, as traders were betting on the Fed’s less aggressive rate hike, pushing the Hang Seng Index 230 points higher to close above the 22,000 level,” he added.

Back home, Bursa heavyweights Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd gained eight sen to RM5.26 a share, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) improved five sen to RM8.79, Sime Darby Plantation Bhd accumulated seven sen to RM4.40, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd was six sen better at RM8.41, and IHH Healthcare Bhd inched up four sen to RM5.96.

As for the actives, CTOS Digital Bhd lost four sen to RM1.50, Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd added half a sen to 20.5 sen and Pasukhas Bhd gained half a sen to 2.5 sen, while Vestland Bhd improved one sen to 40 sen, and Minda Global Bhd was flat at seven sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index earned 46.03 points to 10,862.30, the FBMT 100 Index advanced 42.09 points to 10,527.55, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index went up 65.18 points to 11,141.38.

The FBM 70 Index widened 55.91 points to 13,741.91, while the FBM ACE Index added 47.20 points to 5,758.66.  

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index advanced 1.08 points to 191.01, the Plantation Index increased 51.82 points to 6,881.20, and the Financial Services Index grew 19.211 points to 16,432.65, while the Energy Index fell 1.54 points to 885.71.