FBM KLCI Makes Swift Rebound At Opening, Expected To Hover In 1,640-1,650 Range

By Harizah Hanim Mohamed

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 (Bernama) -- The FBM KLCI rebounded swiftly during Thursday’s opening session, recouping some losses from the previous day.

However, traders anticipate the index will remain confined to a narrow 10-point range of 1,640-1,650 throughout the day.

At 9.05 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) perked up 3.35 points to 1,643.15 from yesterday’s close of 1,639.80.

The benchmark index opened 4.24 points better at 1,644.04.

Market breadth showed improvement, with gainers outpacing losers 242 to 105. A total of 236 counters remained unchanged, 1,883 were untraded and 26 were suspended.

Turnover totalled 104.94 million units valued at RM65.41 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's equity research vice-president, Thong Pak Leng, noted that the FBM KLCI fell to just below the 1,640 level yesterday amid regional weaknesses.

“Despite this, we were surprised by the extent of the decline and expect a swift rebound. We anticipate the index will hover within the 1,640-1,650 range today.  "Meanwhile, crude oil prices have rebounded after a one-week downtrend, with Brent crude currently trending just above US$70 per barrel,” he told Bernama.

Wall Street closed broadly higher after a choppy session, following initial concerns that the core Consumer Price Index figure was slightly higher than expected, dampening hopes for a 50 basis points rate cut next week.

Among heavyweights, Maybank traded flat at RM10.68, Public Bank lost one sen to RM4.69, CIMB gained three sen to RM8.30, and Tenaga Nasional added 12 sen to RM14.82.

Among the active counters this morning, Globetronics rose 2.5 sen to 59.5 sen, Velesto Energy and JCY International each gained one sen to 19 sen and 45.5 sen, respectively, while Ekovest remained flat at 33 sen.

Top gainers included Malaysian Pacific Industries, which added 58 sen to RM27.40, United Plantations up 40 sen to RM1.48, New Hoong Fatt up 12 sen to RM2.00, and Malaysia Airports rising 10 sen to RM10.32.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index climbed 39.20 points to 12,189.88, the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 48.94 points to 11,960.51, and the FBMT 100 Index rose 37.81 points to 11,911.02.

The FBM 70 Index declined 104.96 points to 16,981.39, while the FBM ACE Index increased by 23.02 points to 5,016.80.

By sector, the Financial Services Index grew 4.77 points to 19,600.61, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.35 points to 171.16, the Energy Index rose 3.35 points to 838.53, and the Plantation Index ticked up 1.96 points to 7,148.32.

-- BERNAMA