KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 — Bursa Malaysia rebounded at the opening bell on Tuesday as traders picked up beaten-down stocks on Monday.
At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 5.20 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 1,575.66 from 1,570.46 at Monday’s close.
The key index opened 3.21 points firmer at 1,573.67.
On the broader market, gainers beat losers 295 to 186, while 333 counters were unchanged, 1,383 untraded and nine others suspended.
Total volume stood at 622.56 million units worth RM248.78 million.
For the day ahead, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd believes traders may continue to look out for the bashed-down stocks.
“There could be some fresh buying support, given the intraday short selling (IDSS) and intraday short selling by propriety day traders (PDT short sale) have been extended for another six months to Aug 29, 2021,” it said in a note.
The brokerage firm also anticipates bargain-hunting activities to emerge within the technology sector after being bashed down on Monday, and traders might also shift their attention again on oil and gas stocks following the firmer Brent oil price which had climbed strongly overnight above US$65 per barrel.
“We expect the key index to continue trading sideways, with support pegged around 1,550 and resistance around 1,590-1,600,” it added.
Among the heavyweights, Petronas Chemicals added 10 sen to RM7.65, CIMB, IHH and Maxis bagged four sen each to RM4.20, RM5.12 and RM4.70, respectively, while Public Bank was two sen better at RM4.12.
Of the actives, Ace Market debutant Mobilia surged 51.5 sen to 74.5 sen with 72.87 million shares transacted.
The home furniture manufacturer was today listed on the Bursa Malaysia Ace Market. Its share price opened at 65 sen, surging 183 per cent from its initial public offering (IPO) price of 23 sen.
Other most actively traded counters included Velesto, Dynaciate and Hubline, ticking up half-a-sen each to 17.5 sen, 14.5 sen and 5.5 sen, respectively, while Alam Maritim Resouces was unchanged at 10 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index accumulated 33.81 points to 11,581.40, the FBMT 100 Index gained 31.64 points to 11,262.37, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 28.18 points higher at 13,010.39.
The FBM 70 strengthened 21.72 points to 15,312.34 and the FBM ACE soared 131.0 points to 11,441.12.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index increased 42.73 points to 14,807.54, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.85 of-a-point to 181.57, while the Plantation Index retreated 13.89 points to 7,117.69. — Bernama
