KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia rebounded in early trade as investors took to bargain-hunting following the steep decline on Thursday.
At 9.12am, the FBM KLCI was up 5.2 points to 1,497.15. The index opened 1.17 points higher at 1,493.12.
There were 224 gainers, 143 losers and 255 counters traded unchanged on the Bursa Malaysia.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.46% to 31,656.42, S&P 500 rallied 0.3% to 3,966.85 and Nasdaq Composite fell 0.26% to 11,785.13.
TA Securities said stocks should extend consolidation with a downward bias ahead of the weekend, given negative external headwinds from potential more aggressive US interest rate hikes and China slowdown due to rolling Covid lockdowns.
“Immediate index support remains at 1,480, with 1,450, 1,430 and the recent pivot low of 1,408 acting as stronger support preventing a further selloff to next crucial support at 1,394.
“Significant overhead resistance will be the recent high near 1,528, and subsequently 1,540, with tougher upside hurdles at 1,560 and 1,580,” it said.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd said sentiment is seen to remain cautious hence anticipate the index to hover within the 1,485-1,500 range today.
“Nonetheless, we reckon selling in plantation stocks should appear as the crude palm oil dipped to below the RM4,000 level on lower exports.
“Meanwhile, oil and gas stocks should also experience some selling pressure as the Brent crude price closed lower at US$92 per barrel,” the research house said.
On Bursa Malaysia, Batu Kawan rose 42 sen to RM23.42, Hong Leong Financial Group added 10 sen to RM19.46, Carlsberg gained 10 sen to RM23.18 and ViTrox climbed eight sen to RM7.28.
Heineken shed 18 sen to RM23.90, Hengyuan lost 17 sen to RM5.07 and Malaysian Pacific Industries
eased 30 sen to RM29.70.
ACE Market debutant SNS Network Technology Bhd eased 0.5 sen to 24.5 sen with 155.97 million shares done.
