Bursa rally picks up steam following GDP announcement

KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI sustained its rebound over the morning session as the central bank announced better-than-expected economic growth in the first quarter of 2022.

At 12.30pm, the key index was up 11.42 points to 1,550.22 as stocks partially reclaimed heavy losses from the previous session. The overall market was positive with 400 gainers compared with 209 decliners.

In a midday announcement, Bank Negara said the country's gross domestic product expanded 5% year-on-year, which exceeded most analyst predictions.

Stocks that recorded strong leads in the earlier part of the day held on to gains, including Press Metal, which jumped 36 sen to RM5.16 after recent selling pressure.

Petronas Chemicals gained 11 sen to RM9.98, Sime Darby Plantation rose 20 sen to RM5.10 and IOI added 12 sen to RM4.33.

Banks however remained in the red despite the optimistic economic data. Maybank dropped six sen to RM9.01 and Public Bank fell four sen to RM4.59. CIMB was up one sen to RM5.06 while Hong Leong Bank gained four sen to RM20.68.

Among top actives for the day, MNC was up one sen to three sen, Serba Dinamik gained 0.5 sen to nine sen and Technax was down 0.5 sen to 11 sen.

Meanwhile, major Asian markets were seen trimming their losses after a volatile week, which saw investors dumping equities amid fears over high inflation and rising interest rates.

Japan's Nikkei jumped 2.4%, South Korea's Kospi rose 1.7% and China's composite index added 0.6%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng meanwhile climbed 2% while Australia's ASX200 was up 1.7%.