KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia rebounded to trade higher in the early session Friday boosted by bargain-hunting activities in line with the positive Wall Street performance overnight. 

At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 1.16 points to 1,384.17 from 1,383.01 at yesterday's close.

The key index opened 2.81 points higher at 1,385.82.

The broader market was positive with advancers surpassing decliners 160 to 121, while 236 counters were unchanged, 1,739 untraded and 27 others suspended.

Turnover was 220.18 million units worth RM83.38 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said some buying may emerge following the positive development on the US debt ceiling, hence he anticipated the index to hover within the 1,385-1,395 range today.

"Again, we advocate banks as ripe for pickings as most are trending at a six-month low currently despite the decent performance for the first half of 2023," he said.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said cautiousness may prevail with the spotlight turning towards the release of US jobs data that may dictate the interest rate direction later today.

"Investors may prefer stocks with defensive characteristics towards the end of the reporting season. Commodities wise, Brent crude oil traded higher above US$74 per barrel, while crude palm oil prices hovered just below RM3,300," it said.

Most equities markets including Wall Street closed firmer after the US House passed a debt ceiling bill which is crucial to avoid a default. 

Back home, heavyweights Maxis, Tenaga Nasional and Petronas Dagangan were unchanged at RM4.16, RM9.46 and RM21.10 respectively.

Hong Leong Bank eased 18 sen to RM19.10, while Petronas Chemicals added seven sen to RM6.56.

Among the actives, Borneo Oil trimmed half-a-sen to 1.5 sen, Vsolar improved six sen to 30 sen, EP Manufacturing gained eight sen to 94.5 sen and SMTrack was half-a-sen higher at 3.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 11.78 points to 10,215.01, the FBMT 100 Index added 11.47 points to 9,921.55, the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 23.17 points to 10,576.52, the FBM 70 Index gained 28.78 points to 13,590.59, while the FBM ACE Index garnered 12.15 points to 4,961.90.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index remained lower, sliding 18.40 points to 15,174.89, while the Industrial Products and Services Index improved 0.33 of-a-point to 159.11, the Energy Index was higher by 5.44 points to 812.12 and the Plantation Index ticked up 4.08 points to 6,610.87.

 - BERNAMA