BURSA MALAYSIA REBOUNDS AT OPEN ON BARGAIN HUNTING

By Anas Abu Hassan

KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia rebounded from yesterday’s broad-based sell-off to open higher on Tuesday, lifted by bargain-hunting activity despite Wall Street’s flat overnight performance, an analyst said.

At 9.05 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 10.51 points, or 0.73 per cent, to 1,454.31 from Monday’s close of 1,443.80.

The benchmark index opened 7.63 points firmer at 1,451.43.

Market breadth was positive, with gainers outpacing decliners 392 to 105. Some 208 counters were unchanged, 1,644 untraded, and nine suspended.

Turnover stood at 156.59 million shares, valued at RM133.79 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street endured another volatile session, with recent developments on tariff policy remaining uncertain.

"Despite bargain-hunting activity, confidence remains fluid as President Donald Trump looks set to impose an additional 50 per cent tariff on China if Beijing does not retract its reciprocal 34 per cent tariff,” he told Bernama.

On the domestic front, he expects some bargain-hunting to emerge today following yesterday's regional sell-off in response to Trump's sweeping global tariffs announcement last week.

"We anticipate the index to hover between 1,450 and 1,480," he added.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank eased one sen to RM9.99, Public Bank gained five sen to RM4.26, TNB and CIMB each added eight sen to RM13.20 and RM6.70, respectively, while IHH Healthcare lost six sen to RM6.65.

Among the actives, MYEG advanced seven sen to 78 sen, Cypark added five sen to 71 sen, Eldridge Energy gained one sen to 46 sen, Nationgate rose seven sen to RM1.14, and Pertama Digital was up half-a-sen at 8.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index grew 113.19 points to 10,731.75, the FBMT 100 Index improved 104.61 points to 10,538.92, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index appreciated 121 points to 10,422.77.

The FBM 70 Index expanded 262.48 points to 14,938.35, and the FBM ACE Index gained 51.40 points to 4,304.12.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index recovered 107.80 points to 17,717.07, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 2.48 points to 137.97, the Energy Index rose 18.04 points to 660.42, while the Plantation Index slipped 3.06 points to 7,095.74.

-- BERNAMA