Bursa Malaysia started the trading session at the end of the week with a high opening supported by bargain-hunting activity despite the broader market's weak sentiment.
At 9am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was up 5.89 points at 1,497.84 from Thursday's close of 1,491.95.05.
The index opened 1.17 points higher at 1,493.12.
In the broader market, gainers at 173 outpaced gainers at 110, while 186 counters were unchanged, 1,820 untraded and 32 suspended.
Total revenue at 175.15 million units worth RM69.57 million.
Nota Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd comments, market uncertainty flanked by the collapse of commodity prices is seen to increase pressure on investors in the near term.
Based on these factors, the firm expects defensive counters and strong earnings to be sought after by investors.
The technology sector, on the other hand, may not be the main focus of investors given the drastic decline on Wall Street.
Heavyweight stocks saw Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) add 4 sen to RM8.95, Public Bank Bhd gain 2 sen to RM4.68 and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd reach 3 sen to RM5.51 while Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd fell 8 sen to RM8 .70 and IHH Healthcare Bhd remained at RM6.18.
Active shares saw Jentayu Sustainables Bhd jump 2 sen at 55 sen, Dagang NeXchange Bhd gained 1 sen at 83 sen and Shin Yang Shipping Corp Bhd gained 3.5 sen at 63 sen while Jade Marvel Group Bhd was down 1 sen at 30 sen and SNS Network Technology Bhd which made its first appearance flat at 25 cents.
On the index board, the FBM Emas index increased by 39.51 points at 10,600.74, the FBMT 100 index gained 37.13 points at 10,351.67, the FBM 70 gained 30.69 points at 12,595.29, the FBM ACE reached 15.29 points at 4,840.33 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index strengthened by 34.48 points at 10,099.64.
In terms of sectors, the Plantation index strengthened by 2.07 points at 6,998.46 and the Financial Services index gained 82.92 points at 16,826.29 while the Products and Services index weakened by 0.24 points at 180.34 and the Energy index decreased by 0.87 points at 710.46.
