KL shares in step with rest of Asia, lifting higher at mid-morning

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 — The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) remained higher at mid-morning today, tracking a similar uptrend on Asian bourses on the back of a robust Wall Street performance last Friday.

At 11.05am, the key index was 14.44 points higher or 0.88 per cent at 1,643.24, after opening 0.79 point better at 1,629.59.

In a note today, Hong Leong Investment Bank said the FBM KLCI may advance further in the near term in anticipation of renewed inflows of foreign funds and a mild recovery in the ringgit.

It added that the regional equities, currencies and commodity markets are also likely to react positively in the near term, following the robust rebound on Dow Jones last Friday.

“This was due to expectations of a potential Federal Reserve interest rates liftoff in the first quarter of 2016 following the sluggish September US jobs data,” it added.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.22 per cent to 17,941.62, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng surged 1.90 per cent to 21,914.15 and Singapore’s Straits Times gained 1.46 per cent to 21,914.18.

On the home front, market breadth was positive with gainers thumping decliners 435 to 178 while 244 counters were unchanged, 941 untraded and 17 others suspended. Turnover stood at 730.61 million shares worth RM445.58 million.

On the scoreboard, the FBM Emas Index gained 83.41 points to 11,334.61, the FBMT100 Index increased 80.12 points to 11,047.43 while the FBM Emas Shariah Index perked 95.15 points to 12,046.78.

The FBM 70 was up 26.75 points to 12,322.68 and the FBM Ace expanded 92.46 points to 5,639.61. Sector-wise, the Industrial Index was 42.10 points higher at 3,229.81, the Plantation Index advanced 48.45 points to 7,351.62, while the Finance Index soared 155.28 points to 14,099.69.

Of the heavyweights, Maybank increased 12 sen to RM8.57, Public Bank jumped 20 sen to RM18, TNB added 2 sen to RM12.08, Axiata garnered 8 sen to RM5.88 and Sime Darby increased 9 sen to RM8.14. Among actives, China Stationery was up 1.5 sen to 12.5 sen, EA Holdings and XOX improved 1 sen each to 7 sen and 10 sen respectively, while The Media Shoppe was flat at 11 sen. — Bernama