Bursa Malaysia rebounds on plantation, construction buying
Bursa Malaysia recovered from early losses on Thursday as investors bought plantation and construction stocks. The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 0.85 points to 1,603.54 by 9.15 a.m. after opening 1.43 points lower at 1,602.26. Rakuten Trade equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street weakness from US-China trade tensions and a government shutdown weighed on regional markets.
Foreign funds appeared to drive the selloff that pushed the index near 1,600 on Wednesday. Thong expected bargain hunters to lift the index between 1,600 and 1,610. United Plantations jumped 36 sen to 24.78 ringgit while Kerjaya Prospek gained 11 sen to 2.60 ringgit.
Decliners outnumbered gainers 222 to 145 with 254 million shares changing hands. The plantation index climbed 16.29 points to 7,924.11 while the financial services index added 9.36 points to 18,077.60.
