KUALA LUMPUR (May 5): Bursa Malaysia resumed its long weekend breaks on a higher note, lifted by positive market sentiment, following the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) highly anticipated 50-basis-point rate hike and likely less aggressive future hikes to combat inflation.

At 9.06am on Thursday (May 5), the benchmark FBM KLCI had inched up 9.67 points to 1,610.10 from last Friday’s close at 1,600.43.

The index opened 13.91 points higher at 1,614.34.

On the broader market, there were 278 gainers and 123 losers, while 257 counters were unchanged, 1,580 untraded and 16 others suspended.

Total turnover stood at 201.45 million worth RM112.16 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 932 points, while the Nasdaq surged by 401 points.

“As for today (Thursday), we reckon the KLCI will see continuous buying activities but may see some resistance in around the 1,605-1,610 range,” he told Bernama.

Therefore, he said the index is expected to hover within the 1,590-1,605 range on Thursday.

“On another note, crude palm oil continued its rise as it closed at around RM7,700 per tonne, while crude prices spiked on news that Europe would ban imports of Russian oil with Brent crude settling at the US$110 (about RM477.23) per barrel level,” he said.

Among Bursa heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) gained two sen to RM9.09, Public Bank Bhd added four sen to RM4.73, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd rose 56 sen to RM10.78 and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd was six sen higher at RM5.26, while IHH Healthcare Bhd lost six sen to RM6.55.

Of the actives, PUC Bhd and Bina Puri Holdings Bhd were flat each at 7.5 sen and five sen respectively, Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd increased four sen to RM1.31 and Dynaciate Group Bhd improved half a sen to 14.5 sen, while MN Holdings Bhd shed half a sen to 24 sen. 

On the index board, FBM ACE perked 3.43 points to 5,582.10, FBM 70 ticked up 50.31 points to 13,822.49, the FBM Emas Index expanded 63.43 points to 11,529.52, the FBMT 100 Index bagged 61.00 points to 11,181.50 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 65.29 points to 12,087.57.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index expanded 77.93 points to 17,004.73, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 3.74 points better at 213.77, and the Plantation Index grew 33.43 points to 8,854.44.