Bursa Malaysia rebounds on lower oil prices, easing US yields

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia rebounded to open higher on Friday as lower oil prices, easing United States (US) Treasury yields and resilient labour market data encouraged bargain hunting in technology and semiconductor shares after the index closed 0.26 per cent lower yesterday, an analyst said.

At 9.10am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 1.11 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 1,675.85 from Thursday's close of 1,674.74.

The index opened 1.98 points higher at 1,676.72.

Market breadth was positive, with gainers leading losers 276 to 111. A total of 281 counters were unchanged, 2,198 untraded and 22 suspended.

Turnover stood at 219.07 million shares worth RM104.76 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the US 10-year Treasury yield fell below the key five per cent level to around 4.93 per cent, while Brent crude declined about one per cent to US$103-104 per barrel.

Oil prices settled lower on Thursday as investors weighed supply disruptions from strikes by Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis against reports of additional Saudi crude reaching global markets.

At the time of writing, Brent crude oil slid 0.71 per cent to US$104.08 per barrel.

Thong also said he expects the benchmark index to remain in consolidation, although lower yields and oil prices could encourage selective bargain hunting.

"The FBM KLCI is expected to trade between 1,670 and 1,685 today," he told Bernama.

Among heavyweights, Maybank and CIMB eased two sen each to RM10.34 and RM7.67, respectively, while IHH Healthcare fell six sen to RM7.63. Public Bank was one sen better at RM4.81 and Tenaga Nasional earned two sen to RM13.34.

As for the top actives, AirAsia was 2.5 sen lower at 48 sen, FSBM reduced 3.5 sen to seven sen, while Jaks Resources, Kinergy Advancement and Zetrix AI were all flat and stood at 14 sen, 40 sen and 24.5 sen, respectively.

Among the top gainers, Malaysian Pacific Industries was RM1.20 higher at RM41.22, MN Holdings increased 11 sen to RM3.63, while Pentamaster, MI Technovation and Sunway Construction all gained 10 sen to RM5.32, RM5.69 and RM7.22, respectively.

Of the top losers, Petronas Dagangan shed 30 sen to RM20.78, Nestle was 12 sen lower at RM90.40, while Chin Teck Plantations and Fraser & Neave reduced six sen each to RM10.20 and RM22.80, respectively, and SD Guthrie dropped five sen to RM6.25.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index added 17.56 points to 12,432.39 and the FBM Top 100 Index accumulated 14.81 points to 12,233.76.

Meanwhile, the FBM Mid 70 Index strengthened 50.16 points to 17,657.39, the FBM ACE Index advanced 28.49 points to 5,224.94, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index ticked up 28.84 points to 12,302.71.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.71 of a point to 185.57, and the Energy Index perked 2.36 points to 817.50.

The Financial Services Index declined 14.36 points to 19,521.55, and the Plantation Index lost 12.47 points to 9,494.81.