KUALA LUMPUR (May 13): Bursa Malaysia reversed Thursday's losses to open higher on Friday (May 13), supported by renewed buying interest despite the softer performance of Wall Street overnight, a dealer said.

At 9.15am, the benchmark FBM KLCI had risen 6.39 points to 1,545.19 from Thursday’s close at 1,538.80.

The index opened 7.18 points higher at 1,545.98.

On the broader market, gainers surpassed losers 306 to 142, while 233 counters were unchanged, 1,562 untraded and 19 others suspended.

Total turnover stood at 284.28 million shares worth RM174.42 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said Wall Street ended mostly lower as the Producer Price Index in April 2022 increase suggested that inflationary pressure is expected to prolong.

"Given the persistent inflation worries, we believe the selling pressure may prolong on Wall Street, translating into spillover selling activities in the technology sector," it said in a note.

Back home, the local market is expected to see bargain-hunting activities emerging in the recovery-themed and plantation sectors ahead of the reporting season.

"Traders may also focus on the banking sector following the overnight policy rate hike," it added.

Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) eased eight sen to RM8.99, Public Bank Bhd was down one sen to RM4.62, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd gained eight sen to RM9.95 and IHH Healthcare Bhd stayed flat at RM6.45.

Of the actives, Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd and Yong Tai Bhd added half a sen to nine sen and 10.5 sen respectively, whereas Dagang NeXchange Bhd (DNeX) bagged 2.5 sen to 95.5 sen, while Techna-X Bhd remained unchanged at 11.5 sen

On the index board, FBM ACE improved 28.88 points to 5,258.66, the FBM Emas Index advanced 36.34 points to 10,989.38, the FBMT 100 Index firmed 30.52 points to 10,671.0 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index ticked up 93.17 points to 11,394.95, while FBM 70 dipped 18.76 points to 12,948.08.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index contracted 78.64 points to 16,622.84, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 1.64 points higher at 195.11, and the Plantation Index climbed 145.26 points to 8,167.15.