KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 21 ― Shares on Bursa Malaysia were traded slightly higher, in early trading session this morning, driven by improved buying appetite for selected heavyweights and penny stocks.
At 9.12am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 3.35 points higher at 1,810.94 after opening at 1,807.45.
Market breath was positive as gainers outpaced losers 143 to 79 with 153 counters unchanged, 1,181 untraded and 19 others were suspended.
Turnover was thin with 96.04 million shares worth RM52.547 million traded.
HwangDBS Vickers Research said the bourse would likely drift sideways with a slight positive slant against a backdrop of slow news flows.
The benchmark FBM KLCI ― after hitting a low of 1,801.31 yesterday ― could stage a mild technical rebound by pulling further away from the psychological mark of 1,800 ahead, it added.
There was no overnight lead as Wall Street was closed yesterday.
HwangDBS added that investors would relook at the automotive sector ― in particular DRB-Hicom as a probable key beneficiary ― following the announcement of the revised National Automotive Policy yesterday.
Among actives, KNM Group was two sen higher at 50.5 sen, Daya Materials advanced one sen to 40.5 sen and Takaso Resources edged up half-a-sen to 27.5.
Bio Osmo inched down half-a-sen to 17 sen and DRB-Hicom eased two sen to RM2.75.
As for heavyweights, Maybank added four sen to RM9.85, TNB gained 12 sen to RM11.52, CIMB rose three sen to RM7.12, Sime Darby was flat at RM9.12 but Axiata eased one sen to RM6.63.
On the scoreboard, the Finance Index gained 37.62 points to 16,659.77, the Industrial Index added 7.2 points to 3,073.8 but the Plantation Index eased 20.94 points to 8,459.07.
The FBM Emas Index went up 22.61 points to 12,531.79, the FBMT100 Index rose 21.72 points to 12,237.96.
The FBM Ace garnered 22.04 points to 6,004.81 and the FBM 70 increased 20.98 points to 13,891.24. ― Bernama
