KUALA LUMPUR, June 16 — Bursa Malaysia rebounded from yesterday’s losses to open slightly higher today, driven by renewed buying in selected industrial products and services counters, a dealer said.

At 9.16am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 1.65 points to 1,583.10 from Tuesday’s close of 1,581.37.

The index opened 1.55 points better at 1,582.92.

Market breadth was positive with gainers leading losers 224 to 214, while 332 counters were unchanged, 1,383 untraded, and 11 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 569.06 million units worth RM247.82 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said investors may focus on packaging and plastic-related counters as Advanced Sterilisation Products (ASP) in the sector is on a rising trend on the back of higher resin prices.

In a research note today, it said the energy sector may gain traction in line with the persistent rise in oil price while technology stocks may continue their rebound today.

"The FBM KLCI finished a see-saw session mildly lower on Tuesday after bargain-hunting activities emerged in the previous session as market sentiment remained cautious prior to the National Recovery Plan announcement.

"We expect the projection that Malaysia might gradually open up the economy by September according to the announcement, coupled with the accelerating daily vaccination rate in the country, to lift the market sentiment on the local front,” it said.

Regarding commodities, the research firm said crude palm oil (CPO) price rebounded after a sixth-session decline, while Brent oil price stayed firmly above US$73 per barrel.

Of the heavyweights, Maybank and Public Bank added 1.0 sen each to RM8.21 and RM4.22, respectively, TNB gained 6.0 sen to RM10, Petronas Chemicals was flat at RM8.10 and IHH Healthcare slipped 1.0 sen to RM5.56.

Among the actives, KNM earned half-a-sen to 21 sen, DNeX and Zelan improved 1.5 sen each to 90.5 sen and 15 sen, respectively, while Berjaya Corp and Serba Dinamik eased half-a-sen each to 33 sen and 67.5 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased 6.73 points to 11,574.58 and the FBMT 100 Index gained 8.04 points to 11,255.19, while the FBM ACE fell 18.04 points to 7,686.88.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 10.03 points to 12,721.78 but the FBM 70 declined 3.43 points to 15,072.73.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index shed 2.23 points to 15,314.46, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.33 of-a-point to 194.26, and the Plantation Index declined 18.75 points to 6,583.62. — Bernama