Malaysian Stock Market Rebounds To Open Higher

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 7 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian stock market (Bursa Malaysia) rebounded to open higher on Wednesday, as Wall Street posted its biggest rally in 15 months after the recent sell-off, dealers said. At 9.06 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) stood at 1,833.74, up 21.29 points from Tuesday's close of 1,812.45. It opened 14.66 points firmer at 1,827.11. Gainers led losers 496 to 36, while 133 counters were unchanged, 1180 untraded and 19 others suspended. Turnover stood at 268.20 million shares worth RM132.45 million. Overnight, the S&P 500 ended 1.7 per cent higher and the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 2.3 per cent firmer. Public Investment Bank Bhd said while markets may still be volatile in the near term, the conditions over mid to longer term remained encouraging, underpinned by the improving global growth and earnings. “We see both trading and accumulation opportunities depending on respective investment horizons once the dust settles. “Fundamentals remain unchanged this month and last. What is changing is the perception of heightened inflation and interest rate increase risks in the US which has deflated investment sentiment,” it said in its morning note on Wednesday. Meanwhile, in another development, Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak on Tuesday said that the stamp duty on middle and small capital companies shares traded on Bursa Malaysia will be waived for three years, effective March 2018. He said the initiative was intended to enhance better value recognition and vibrancy in this segment of the stock market. He also said that mid and small cap companies account for over a third of those listed on Bursa Malaysia and the total market cap stood at RM217 billion. On Bursa Malaysia, among heavyweights, Maybank rose ten sen to RM10.10, Tenaga gained 12 sen to RM15.70, Public Bank improved 32 sen to RM21.80, while Petronas Chemicals was flat at RM8.00. Of the active counters, Sumatec added half-a-sen to eight sen, Sapura Energy recovered 2.5 sen to 74.5 sen and Hibiscus Petroleum increased 3.5 sen to 88.5 sen. For the top gainers, Nestle advanced RM1.00 to RM115.30, BAT leaped 76 sen to RM32.76 and Hartalega was up 54 sen to RM11.38. The FBM Emas Index bagged 179.61 points to 13,106.62, the FBMT 100 Index was up 173.72 points to 12,815.76 and the FBM 70 jumped 302.96 points to 16,148.36. The FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 160.05 points to 13,374.17 and the FBM Ace increased 139.07 points to 6,280.48. Sector-wise, the Finance Index was 264.26 points higher at 17,624.53, as the Industrial Index rose 27.81 points to 3,251.85 and the Plantation Index soared 66.76 points to 7,960.88. -- BERNAMA