KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 — Share prices on Bursa Malaysia opened higher in early trading today, boosted by positive sentiments held up by a stable external backdrop, dealers said.
At 9.04am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) stood at 1,800.35, up 2.61 points from Friday’s closing at 1,797.74.
The benchmark index opened 1.39 points better at 1,799.13.
Market breadth was positive, with 148 gainers and 38 losers, while 119 counters were unchanged, 1,275 untraded and 14 others were suspended.
Turnover amounted at 41.902 million shares worth RM31.677 million.
HwangDBS Vickers Research said on Wall Street last Friday, leading US bellwethers ended between -0.7 per cent and +0.2 per cent amid better corporate earnings announcements.
“As investors’ confidence returns, there is a chance for our local bourse to extend its uptrend.
“From a technical perspective, the benchmark FBM KLCI could climb and possibly close marginally above the psychological mark of 1,800 points ahead,” it said in a research note today.
On the scoreboard, the Finance Index rose 24.3 points to 17,285.05, the Industrial Index added 1.57 points to 3,047.53, while the Plantation Index eased 2.05 points to 8,415.88.
The FBM Emas Index improved 20.68 points to 12,563.9, the FBM 70 Index advanced 26.6 points to 14,482.22, the FBM100 was up 18.89 points to 12,293.67 and the FBM ACE Index gained 22.46 points to 5,016.32.
Among actives, Daya Materials, MMHE and Niche Capital all gained one sen each to 27.5 sen, RM3.98 and 18.5 sen, respectively, while Handal Resources added three sen to 60 sen.
As for heavyweights, Maybank gained two sen to RM10.66, CIMB garnered four sen to RM8.50, Sime Darby earned one sen to RM9.50, Maxis was flat at RM7.03 and Axiata Group slipped one sen to RM6.77. — Bernama
