KUALA LUMPUR, April 3 — Bursa Malaysia opened higher today on fresh buying interest, said a dealer.
At 9.05 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) stood at 1,740.58, up 0.49 of-a-point, from Friday's close of 1,740.09.
At 9.00am, the index opened 2.29 points higher at 1,742.380.
JF Apex Securities, however, said the FBM KLCI could remain pressured below the 1,750 points level, following the lacklustre performance in the United States (US) and Europe last Friday.
The US markets declined at the end of trading day last week after consumer spending data dropped below expectation and European stocks ended mixed following potential Brexit and a Cabinet reshuffle in South Africa.
On the broader market, gainers led losers 241 to 221 with 280 counters unchanged, 957 untraded and 14 others were suspended.
Turnover stood at 540.69 million shares worth RM323.51 million.
Of heavyweights, Petronas Chemicals increased three sen to RM7.73, AMMB Holdings rose five sen to RM4.70, IJM Corp appreciated four sen to RM3.44 and Maybank edged up one sen to RM8.93.
TNB was flat at RM13.72 while Sime Darby eased one sen to RM9.27 and CIMB declined three sen to RM5.54.
Of actives, Eco World International, which debuted on the main market at RM1.31 per share this morning, was nine sen better at RM1.29, Iskandar Waterfront surged 14 sen to RM3.07 while Borneo Oil and Vizione Holdings were flat at 19 sen and 13 sen, respectively.
The FBM Emas Index was 7.03 points higher at 12,368.72, FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 18.05 points to 12,829.39 and the FBMT100 Index gained 4.71 points to 12,011.40.
The FBM 70 went up 29.30 points to 14,579.77 but the FBM Ace declined 18.66 points to 5,808.82.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index added 2.86 points to 8,205.38 but the Industrial Index inched down 0.28 of-a-point to 3,254.14 and the Finance Index shed 4.97 points to 15,654.70. — Bernama
