KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia is looking to end the week with a rebound as the US debt ceiling bill was voted though the House of Representatives overnight, sending global stocks higher.
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At the opening bell, the benchmark FBM KLCI was up 2.81 points to 1,385.82 after three straight days of losses.
“Following the passing of US debt ceiling bill and the subsequent rebound on Wall Street, bargain hunting activities may emerge on the local bourse,” said Malacca Securities Research.
However, it added that cautiousness may prevail with the spotlight turning towards the release of US jobs data that may dictate the interest rate direction.
“Investors may prefer stocks with defensive characteristics towards the end of earnings season,” it said in a note.
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Stocks seen bouncing higher included PETRONAS Chemicals rising seven sen to RM6.56, IHH gaining eight sen to RM5.82 and Hap Seng adding eight sne to RM3.46.
EP Manufacturing jumped eight sen to 94.5 sen while AirAsia X rose four sen to RM1.75.
Top actives included Borneo Oil down 0.5 sne to 1.5 sen, SMTrack up 0.5 sen to 3.5 sen and and Vsolar rising five sen to 29 sen.
– The Star