KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 23 ― Bursa Malaysia was higher at mid-morning, supported by buying interest in trade and services-linked heavyweights, including Sime Darby, Axiata and MISC.
The three counters contributed 4.11 points to the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI).
At 11.05am, the index was 6.69 points higher at 1,671.58, after opening 0.48 of-a-point lower at 1,665.92.
The FBM KLCI closed at 1,664.89 on Friday.
Losers outpaced gainers 278 to 274, with 306 counters unchanged, 876 counters untraded and 20 others were suspended.
Turnover stood at 575.20 million shares worth RM325.70 million.
Kenanga Research, in a note, said traders were cautious of policy changes that could take place after US President Donald Trump took office on Friday.
“Besides, trading volume is expected to be thin ahead of the extended holidays for the Chinese Lunar festival.
“All in, we reckon that the FBMKLCI will trade flat within 1,660 and 1,680 this week,” it said.
Among trade and services-linked counters, Sime Darby added 23 sen to RM8.75, Axiata improved five sen to RM4.71, MISC advanced nine sen to RM7.39, Hap Seng rose seven sen to RM8.87 and IHH increased two sen to RM6.32.
As for gainers, BAT earned 50 sen to RM44.60, Hong Leong Financial edged up 23 sen to RM14.88, AEON Credit gained 16 sen to RM15.94 while Top Glove and PPB perked 10 sen each to RM5.26 and RM16.20, respectively.
Of the actives, Hibiscus garnered one sen to 47 sen, Luster Industries was half-a-sen better at nine sen but AirAsia fell 15 sen to RM2.43 and SKH Consortium unchanged at 7.5 sen.
The FBM Emas Index improved 39.02 points to 11,707.57, FBMT100 Index increased 39.61 points to 11,412.15 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 60.06 points to 12,218.00.
The FBM 70 was 3.22 points better at 13,370.16, however, the FBM Ace fell 22.29 points to 4,963.51.
On a sectoral basis, the Industrial Index rose 38.92 points to 3,164.45, Finance Index added 38.42 points to 14,745.63 but the Plantation Index was 1.99 points lower at 7,913.13. ― Bernama
