KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 10 — Bursa Malaysia rebounded to positive territory in early Friday trading, driven by bargain hunting as investors seized opportunities after recent declines.

At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased by 3.48 points to 1,604.29 from Thursday’s close of 1,600.81, after opening 2.73 points firmer at 1,603.54.

Across the broader market, gainers led losers 212 to 107, with 300 counters unchanged, 1,750 untraded, and 19 suspended. Turnover stood at 154.55 million shares worth RM95.70 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the recent sell-off offered an attractive opportunity for investors to buy.

“Hence, we believe bargain hunting may emerge and anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within the range of 1,600-1,610 for today,” he said.

Meanwhile, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd noted Wall Street was closed out of respect for the passing of former United States (US) President Jimmy Carter, while Wall Street futures are down, and traders are shifting their attention to the December nonfarm payrolls due later today.

The brokerage said that as Wall Street futures slide, this could spill over to stocks on the local front.

“However, we believe the market will focus on state-specific thematic play such as Sarawak, as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s proposal to position Sarawak as Malaysia’s energy hub is expected to drive further developments in the state, benefiting East Malaysia-related counters,” it said in a note.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank and CIMB gained two sen each to RM10.10 and RM8.13, Tenaga Nasional added six sen to RM14.18, but MISC fell one sen to RM7.14.

Both Public Bank and CelcomDigi were flat at RM4.44 and RM3.66.

As for the active stocks, Velocity and Widad rose half-a-sen each to 7.5 sen and 5.0 sen, while Datasonic was 1.5 sen firmer at 42 sen. However, 3Ren lost half-a-sen to 38 sen and Swift Energy was flat to 42 sen.

On the broader index, the FBM Emas Index increased by 30.50 points to 12,325.17, the FBM Emas Shariah Index strengthened by 34.25 points to 12,295.10 and the FBMT 100 Index widened by 29.22 points to 12,007.02.

The FBM 70 Index inched up 56.92 points to 18,537.04 and the FBM ACE Index bagged 18.75 points to 5,328.56.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index strengthened by 32.94 points to 18,886.72 and the Plantation Index went up 2.58 points to 7,535.94, while the Industrial Products and Services Index improved by 0.31 of-a-point to 170.93 and the Energy Index garnered 1.40 points to 836.72. — Bernama