KUALA LUMPUR, March 14 — Shares on Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session on a firm note today on continued buying in selected heavyweights.
At 12.30pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) stood at 1,700.57, up 4.03 points, from Friday’s close of 1,696.54.
The index moved between 1,695.95 and 1,708.1 throughout the morning session after opening 0.34 of a point easier at 1,696.2.
Market breadth was at an equilibrium, with a similar number of gainers and decliners at 338, while 347 counters were unchanged, 699 untraded and 12 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 824.97 million shares worth RM705.21 million.
Hong Leong Investment Bank Research said the recent oil price rally had improved sentiment towards the oil and gas industry.
“We believe the rally could see oil prices capped at between US$50-55 per barrel levels,” it added.
The price for the benchmark Brent Crude was at US$40.45 per barrel today.
On Bursa Malaysia, Petronas Chemical was among the heavyweight leaders with a gain of six sen to RM6.81.
For other heavyweights, TNB rose four sen to RM13.44, Axiata gained one sen to RM5.99 and Sime Darby increased five sen to RM7.90.
However, Public Bank and IHH Healthcare were flat at RM18.58 and RM6.47, respectively, while Maybank eased one sen to RM8.80.
The FBM Emas Index rose 23.4 points to 11,759.58, the FBMT100 Index gained 21.8 points to 11,469.9 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 31.48 points higher at 12,440.77.
The FBM 70 rose 5.24 points to 12,935.08, but the FBM Ace contracted 41.19 points to 5,581.4.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Index was up 7.82 points to 3,295.25, the Plantation Index increased 54.83 points to 8,038.26, while the Finance Index lost 29.19 points to 14,372.71. — Bernama
