Bargain hunting boosts Bursa Malaysia in early trade

At 9.38 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) advanced by 5.55 points to 1,475.10 from Wednesday's closing of 1,469.55.

The market bellwether opened 2.91 points higher at 1,472.46.

On the broader market, gainers surpassed losers 273 to 204, while 292 counters were unchanged, 1,440 untraded and nine others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 657.43 million units worth RM208.27 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd said despite the bargain-hunting activities, the overall sentiment remained rather dull as the local bourse is undergoing mild consolidation.

"Nonetheless, we still reckon that local equities are ripe for accumulation and that the index may stage a rebound anytime soon, hence, we expect it to trend within the 1,465-1,475 range today.

"Meanwhile, concerns over softening demand from the United States saw crude oil prices plummeting, with Brent crude weakening to US$78 per barrel, which may impact oil and gas stocks today," it said in a note today.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank advanced five sen to RM8.76, Public Bank and TNB added three sen to RM4.31 and RM9.40, respectively, and CIMB increased seven sen to RM5.72, while Digi was flat at RM3.84 and Petronas Chemicals declined five sen to RM8.40.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index expanded by 37.98 points to 10,600.38, the FBMT 100 Index improved by 38.33 points to 10,310.13, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index widened by 21.82 points to 10,780.56.

The FBM 70 Index bagged 46.49 points to 13,019.12 and the FBM ACE Index narrowed by 10.31 points to 5,368.22.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index surged 100.91 points to 16.421.45 and the Plantation Index was 6.06 points higher at 6,883.60, while the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.02 of-a-point to 181.40 and the Energy Index shaved 2.58 points to 778.65.