KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 — Bursa Malaysia started the week on a positive note with the return of fresh interest after recent bouts of correction.

At 9.05am, the FBM KLCI bagged 2.28 points to 1,602.95 compared to Friday’s close of 1,600.67.

The barometer index opened 1.63 points better at 1,602.30.

Gainers led decliners 263 to 135, while 323 counters were unchanged, 1,629 untraded and 27 others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 200.60 million units worth RM111.84 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng expects the FBM KLCI to trend on a strong upside bias today, buoyed by the United States (US) Federal Reserve’s suspension of its rate hikes.

"All eyes will be on the April Consumer Price Index to be out May 15. Consequently, the Dow Jones Index Average rose 125.0 points, while the Nasdaq lost 5.0 points as the US 10-year yield edged higher at 4.50 per cent,” he said.

Closer to home, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surged to near the 19,000 mark, driven by renewed confidence in the Chinese economy’s recovery and Xian’s decision to eliminate property purchase restrictions following Hangzhou’s lead, aiming to stimulate growth in the property sector.

Back home, heavyweights Genting and PPB rose 16 sen each to RM4.71 and RM15.64, respectively, while Genting Malaysia was six sen higher at RM2.69.

YTL and CIMB increased three sen to RM3.43 and RM6.80, respectively, while Petronas Chemicals went up four sen to RM6.95.

As for the actives, KNM and Sealink International improved one sen to 8.0 sen and 23 sen, respectively, and AwanBiru Technology surged 17.5 sen to 43 sen, while AHB was flat at 16.5 sen and Powerwell lost 1.5 sen to 43 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 24.76 points to 12,111.44, the FBMT 100 Index was 22.93 points better at 11,720.10 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 17.42 points to 12,301.97.

The FBM 70 Index jumped 58.84 points to 17,019.21 while the FBM ACE Index advanced 21.68 points to 5,188.43.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index perked 14.73 points to 17,537.50, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.42 of-a-point to 192.69, the Plantation Index inched up 1.02 points to 7,425.45, and the Energy Index gained 0.99 points to 986.15. — Bernama