KUALA LUMPUR: The domestic market tracked the positive performance on Wall Street higher as investors scooped up bargains amid easing anxiety over the possibility of a recession.
At 9.05am, the FBM KLCI was up 3.28 points to 1,431.97. There were 163 gainers compared with 91 decliners on the market.
Trading volume was 81.02 million shares crossing hands for a value of RM31.78mil.
Major US indices rallied overnight as investors help hope that June's employment data, due out later today, would indicate that employers were tightening their purse strings in light of the inflation pressures.
"We believe the overnight rallies on Wall Street, coupled with the China’s stimulus plan should entice buyers to scoop up some shares within the beaten-down stocks at this current juncture.
"Still, long-term sentiment should remain cautious on the back of heightened inflationary pressure," said Malacca Securities Research.
Meanwhile, a rebound in crude oil futures helped energy and commodities stocks to bounce back following the recent sell-off.
Petronas Chemicals rose 10 sen to RM8.44 while lower liners Petron Malaysia
jumped 15 sen to RM4.74 and Hengyuan added 12 sen to RM4.29.
Among the most actively traded stocks, Sapura Energy was unchanged at 4.5 sen while Hibiscus rose three sen to 90.5 sen.
In other sectors, the strong rally on the Nasdaq lent positive sentiment to local tech counters.
MPI was up 28 sen to RM28.28, Hengyuan added 12 sen to RM4.29 and Vitrox rose 12 sen to RM6.86.
Plantation counters remained unchanged following a mixed performance in the previous session.
Financial services stocks were higher with Maybank adding two sen to RM8.60, Public Bank gaining three sne to RM4.39 while CIMB lost one sen to RM5.08 and Hong Leong Bank losing eight sen to RM20.10.
