FBM KLCI rebounds in early trade

KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI rebounded in early trade Friday as investors took to bargain-hunting following the decline over the past three trading sessions.

At 9.05am, the market bellwether rose 1.12 points, or 0.08% to 1,442.97. It opened 0.64 of a point higher at 1,442.49 earlier.

Inter-Pacific Research said after three consecutive sessions of pullback, the selling is looking to ease judging by the emergence of mild bargain hunting towards the end of yesterday’s session.

“This raise hopes for the key index to find support around its 200-day moving average level that could also leave the key index on a positive bias. It would also allow for the bouts of bargain hunting to remain and to provide the much-needed support to sustain the bullish streak.

“However, there could still be choppiness over the near term, in tandem with the increased volatility among global indices that are still reacting to the downgrade of the U.S.’ credit rating as well as profit-taking actions after the strong rally in global equities recently.

“For now, the 200-day support at 1,437 points should hold, but if it gives way, the supports are lowered to 1,433 points and 1,430 points respectively. The hurdles remain at 1,455 points and the recent high of 1,460 points,” Inter-Pacific said.

Among the gainers, Malaysian Pacific Industries rose 24 sen to RM28.52, Kuala Lumpur Kepong gained 10 sen to RM23.30, Bursa Malaysia added eight sen to RM6.80 and TAS Offshore climbed 5.5 sen to 32.5 sen.

On the other hand, Imaspro fell nine sen to RM4.70, PETRONAS Chemicals eased four sen to RM6.81 and Pertama declined four sen to RM3.01.

Overnight, the U.S. market declined overnight amid corporate earnings season. Earlier, European markets dropped after the Bank of England raised interest rates.

The S&P 500 fell 0.25% to finish at 4,501.89, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 66.63 points, or 0.19% to end at 35,215.89. The Nasdaq Composite inched down 0.1% to 13,959.72.