KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 — Bursa Malaysia rebounded to trade higher on Wednesday, with buying interest sparked by election play and the Wall Street’s rally after a slew of stronger-than-expected corporate earnings.

The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) ticked up 4.97 points to 1,449.38 after eight minutes of trading, compared to Tuesday’s close of 1,444.41.

At 9am, the barometer index opened 3.16 points higher at 1,447.57.

The broader market was positive with gainers outpacing losers 166 to 94, while 221 counters were unchanged, 1,883 untraded, and 11 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 122.23 million units valued at RM65.19 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said traders are tuning to the 15th General Election theme, with foreign investors remaining as net buyers for the past few days.

"The telecommunications and media sector may continue to stay active with the ongoing 5G rollout while waiting for the re-tabling of Budget 2023.

"For the election theme, we like the construction, building materials, as well as selected banking

stocks. Meanwhile, the technology sector may track the solid overnight gains in Nasdaq,” it said in a note today.

Commodities-related counters are also set to be in the limelight as crude oil traded above US$93 per barrel, while the crude palm oil price hovered above RM4,150 per tonne.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of Equity Research, Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street also gained on hopes that the United States (US) Federal Reserve will be less aggressive in raising rates following signs that the US economy is cooling down.

The US stock market also received a boost from major players as Coca-Cola, General Motors and Microsoft posted stronger-than-expected corporate earnings.

Back home, Maybank rose six sen to RM8.74, Sime Darby Plantation gained five sen to RM4.47, PPB was 20 sen stronger at RM16.80, and both Axiata and Maxis added three sen to RM2.77 and RM3.60, respectively.

Of the actives, newly-listed Betamek strengthened 26 sen to 76 sen, Yee Lee Pacific bagged 2.5 sen to 31 sen and MAG was half-a-sen higher at 18 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 29.04 points to 10,257.43, the FBM 70 perked 13.89 points to 12,121.28, and the FBMT 100 Index increased 29 points to 10,003.82.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index bagged 29.08 points to 10,241.20 and the FBM ACE added 12.24 points to 4,842.84.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index increased 37.76 points to 16,542.93, the Energy Index edged up 2.92 points to 681.28, the Industrial Products and Services Index rose 0.29 of-a-point to 175.38 and the Plantation Index was higher by 20.33 points to 6,812.41. — Bernama