KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia was in the red in early Wednesday trade on lack of buying interest but Haily Group, which made its trading debut on the ACE Market, held steady.

       At 9.16am, the FBM KLCI was down 2.14 points or 0.14% to 1,517.83, dragged down by losses in MR DIY, KL Kepong and Sime Plantation.

       Turnover was 579.99 million shares valued at RM323.79mil. There were 192 gainers, 258 losers and 341 counters unchanged.

       Bloomberg reported Asian stocks rose early Wednesday in the wake of the biggest advance in U.S. equities since March as anxiety over the economic impact of coronavirus flareups eased. Treasury yields held gains.

       Shares climbed in Japan, Australia and South Korea. US equity futures edged higher after bargain hunters helped the S&P 500 to all but erase Monday’s slide in a comeback for the reopening trade, led by cyclical sectors such as industrials and financials.

       Oil fell after a surprise build in US stockpiles and as investors weighed the impact on demand from the rapid spread of the delta variant, wire reports said.

       West Texas Intermediate lost 0.5% in early Asian trade, resuming declines after an advance on Tuesday.

       Meanwhile, construction-based Haily Group opened at 79 sen or 11 sen above its offer price of 68 sen. It was trading at 76.5 sen, up 8.5 sen.

       CTOS, which made a stunning debut on the Main Market on Monday, fell two sen to RM1.60 – still a huge premium of 50 sen above its offer price of RM1.10.

       However, Ramssol attracted positive interest after its recent trading debut, climbing 3.5 sen to 70.5 sen.

       KL Kepong and Batu Kawan fell eight sen each to RM19.64 and RM19.30 while Sime Plantation lost seven sen to RM3.62. MR DIY lost seven sen to RM3.41.

       MPI fell the most, down 50 sen to RM41.20, Widetec and KSCC 14 sen each to RM3.58 and 80 sen.

       Vitrox was the top gainer, up 64 sen to RM17.32, Genetec 22 sen to RM17.20, CFM 18 sen to RM4.27 and SJC eight sen to RM2.39.