KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia pared earlier losses to finish in positive territory due to late buying on Dialog Group Bhd, Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd and CelcomDigi Bhd.
At 5pm, FTSE Bursa Malaysia (FBM) KLCI added 0.46 per cent or 6.67 points to 1,452.74 versus Wednesday's close of 1,446.07.
The key index which opened 1.73 points easier at 1,444.34 hit the lowest point of 1,440.62 throughout the trading session today.
The broader market was negative with decliners surpassing gainers 621 to 328 while 424 counters remained unchanged.
On the index board, FBM100 added 0.3 per cent or 30.68 points to 10,396.56, FBM Emas gained 0.26 per cent or 27.95 to 10,727.40 and FBM Ace was up by 0.43 per cent or 21.83 points to 5,065.45.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said bargain hunting activities is expected to continue.
"This would be spurred by the benchmark index's comparatively lower valuations against its regional counterparts accompanied by continuous inflow of foreign funds, hence, we foresee the FBM KLCI trending higher, likely within the range of 1,450-1,460 towards the weekend," he said.
On the global front, Thong said key regional markets closed mostly higher, driven by late buying activity, with investors anticipating a potential interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve (Fed) in the next year.
"The latest US data underscores a resilient economy in the third quarter of 2023 and a simultaneous decline in inflation, heightening the likelihood that the Fed might consider implementing interest rate cuts earlier than originally projected.
"Furthermore, the sentiment was further buoyed by lacklustre China economic data, suggesting more government support is needed to help shore up growth in the world's second-largest economy," he added.
