KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia closed higher today, rebounding from yesterday's losses due to late buying in heavyweight stocks.
The market, initially pressured by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, saw a recovery as investors capitalised on lower prices.
On the broader market, however, decliners outpaced gainers 504 to 473, with 545 counters unchanged, 890 untraded and nine suspended.
Turnover slipped to 3.29 billion units valued at RM2.52 billion from Wednesday's 3.86 billion units worth RM2.73 billion.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said late bargain hunting in banking, gaming and energy stocks helped lift the benchmark index.
Thong said investors found value in selected counters, taking advantage of attractive stock valuations.
"Despite global uncertainties, market sentiment improved towards the end of the session, leading to renewed buying interest.
"Looking ahead, the local equity market is expected to maintain a cautiously optimistic outlook. With undemanding valuations and improving economic conditions, further bargain hunting is likely.
"We anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within the 1,430 and 1,445 range towards the weekend with immediate resistance at 1,670 and support at 1,635," he said.
Among heavyweight stocks, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd added one sen to RM7.99, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd gained seven sen to RM5.77 and Tenaga Nasional Bhd slipped 2.0 sen to RM14.28.
IHH Healthcare Bhd and Hong leong Bank Bhd were flat at RM7.24 and RM21.30, respectively.
Of the active stocks, Talam Transform Bhd eased half-a-sen to 2.0 sen, Capital A Bhd fell 2.5 sen to 91 sen, MY E.G. Service Bhd dropped one sen to 88 sen and Focus Dynamics Group Bhd was flat at 2.5 sen.