At 9am the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was up 6.39 points at 1,545.19 from Thursday's close of 1,538.80.
The index opened 7.18 points strong at 1,545.98.
The bourse started the morning trading session by reversing yesterday’s losses on the back of new buying interest despite Wall Street’s weak overnight performance.
On the broader market, investors saw gainers at 306 outpacing losers at 142, while 233 counters were unchanged, 1,562 untraded and 19 suspended.
Total turnover at 284.28 million units worth RM174.42 million.
A note from Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd stated that the April 2022 consumer price index (CPI) in the United States (US) had caused Wall Street to end weak, besides suggesting that inflationary pressures are expected to lengthen.
On the exchange, the market may expect bargain-hunting activity to emerge in the recovery and plantation-themed sectors ahead of the seasonal report, while investors will also focus on the banking sector in the wake of the country's overnight policy rate hike.
Heavyweights saw Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) down 8 sen at RM8.99, Public Bank Bhd down 1 sen at RM4.62, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd gained 8 sen at RM9.95 and IHH Healthcare Bhd remained at RM6.45.
Active stocks saw Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd and Yong Tai Bhd add 0.5 sen at 9 sen and 10.5 sen while Dagang NeXchange Bhd (DNeX) collected 2.5 sen at 95.5 sen while Techna-X Bhd was flat at 11.5 sen.
On the index board, FBM ACE advanced 28.88 points at 5,258.66, FBM Emas Index up 36.34 points at 10,989.38, FBMT 100 index strengthened 30.52 points at 10,671.0 and FBM Emas Shariah index jumped 93.17 points at 11,394.95 while FBM 70 declined 18.760 points at 12,948.
In terms of sector, the Financial Services index contracted 78.64 points at 16,622.84, the Products and Services Industry index strengthened 1.64 points at 195.11 and the Plantation index reached 145.26 points at 8,167.15.
