Bursa Malaysia edged higher in early trade on Friday, with technology and semiconductor counters among the top gainers after Wall Street rebounded overnight.
The FBM KLCI rose 0.34 points or 0.02% to 1,675.08 as of early trade after opening 1.98 points higher at 1,676.72.
The overnight rebound on Wall Street was led by technology stocks, with the Nasdaq Composite climbing 1.69% to 26,418.30. The S&P 500 gained 1.14% to 7,637.74 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.62% to 51,779.85.
Lower oil prices, easing US Treasury yields and stronger-than-expected jobs data helped investors look beyond concerns over the Federal Reserve’s first interest rate hike in more than three years.
On Bursa, Malaysian Pacific Industries surged RM1.44 to RM41.54, while Pentamaster gained 10 sen to RM5.32 and Dufu Industries rose 10 sen to RM2.74.
MI Technovation added eight sen to RM5.67, UWC gained eight sen to RM6.36 and Unisem climbed six sen to RM4.21.
Other notable gainers included Sunway Construction, which rose 16 sen to RM7.28, Paragon Union, up 10 sen to RM1.52, and Telekom Malaysia, which added six sen to RM7.86.
Meanwhile, PETRONAS Dagangan fell 34 sen to RM20.74, Nestle Malaysia declined 22 sen to RM90.30, Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia lost 12 sen to RM12.62 and Hong Leong Bank slipped 10 sen to RM23.
Berjaya Research maintained a cautious outlook on the FBM KLCI, citing elevated US Treasury yields and continued uncertainty over the global interest rate outlook.
The research house said the recent weakness could nevertheless encourage bargain hunting among fundamentally sound counters as the benchmark index approaches oversold territory.
“Investors will also be monitoring the upcoming Bank of Japan interest rate decision and Malaysia’s inflation data for further clues on the regional monetary policy outlook and domestic price pressures,” Berjaya Research said.
Technically, the research house said the index remained in a pullback phase after forming another bearish candlestick. It placed immediate resistance at 1,687 points followed by 1,700, while support was seen at 1,666 and 1,655.
Rakuten Trade meanwhile expects the market to continue consolidating, although lower oil prices and bond yields could encourage selective bargain hunting.
