KUALA LUMPUR: Hwang DBS Vickers Research said following Thursday, Nov 18's 6.9-point drop, which apparently was caused mainly by Maybank which went ex-dividend, it expects the FBM KLCI to bounce up on Friday and cross the psychological mark of 1,500.

In its market review and outlook, it said Maybank's stock went ex-dividend for 44 sen per share, which contributed to a 4.8-index point decline.

"Essentially, sentiment will likely get a boost from an overnight surge on Wall Street. Major U.S. bellwethers jumped between 1.5% and 1.6% at the closing bell lifted by hopes that Ireland's debt crisis is about to be resolved while the U.S. economy is showing signs of recovery," it said.

Amid the positive backdrop, stocks that could see added trading interest on Friday include KNM, which has just won a RM680m two-year contract in Uzbekistan.

Also in focus would be Leong Hup and Emivest after their major shareholders have offered to acquire the entire business for RM318.7m (or RM1.80 per Leong Hup share) and RM108.0m (or RM0.90 per Emivest share).