Bursa opens lower but rebounds on bargain hunting

Bursa Malaysia's key index, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI, opened lower by 1.71 points at 1,677.50 today, but experienced a rebound as bargain hunters stepped in, particularly in fundamentally strong blue-chip stocks that had seen their prices fall. After the index closed 1.11% lower on Tuesday, it traded at 1,680.21 by 9.19am, up 1.0 points or 0.06%.

Market breadth was negative, with more stocks falling than rising, resulting in a 309 to 241 ratio. A total of 346 counters remained unchanged, while 1,960 shares were untraded and 13 were suspended. Turnover was 390.15 million shares valued at RM201.32 million.

Despite the positive opening, geopolitical risks and high oil prices continue to pose challenges for the market. Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng noted that the index is expected to trade within the 1,670-1,690 range today. Among the heavyweights, Maybank increased by two sen to RM10.44, Public Bank rose three sen to RM4.83, CIMB declined by one sen to RM7.79, and Tenaga Nasional gained two sen to RM13.34.

Notable top gainers include Nestle, up 22 sen at RM90.40, MN Holdings' warrant, up 14 sen to RM3.52, and YTL Power and UMS Integrated, both up 12 sen to RM5.63 and RM8.11, respectively. Top losers include Malaysia Pacific Industries, down 56 sen to RM39.14, and Petronas Chemicals, falling 20 sen to RM5.