KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 — The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) extended last week's gains to open higher today, driven by positive catalysts on the local market in line with an uptrend on the regional bourses, dealers said.
The index, which opened 4.78 points higher at 1,634.95, improved 6.34 points to 1,636.51 at 9.31 am.
On the broader market, gainers outnumbered decliners 269 to 140, while 265 counters remained unchanged, 1,218 untraded and 31 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 472.20 million shares worth RM171.53 million.
In a research note today, Public Investment Bank Bhd said FBM KLCI might open with a positive note today after US stocks closed higher Friday following a series of strong bank earnings, led by JPMorgan, which boosted confidence in the US economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose nearly 270 points.
Meanwhile, Maybank Investment Bank Bhd said investors were generally neutral-to-positive on Malaysia’s macro sentiments, but the majority were underweight on Malaysia’s equities, with the key issue being the catalyst and compelling reason to invest in Malaysian equities.
“Multi-asset fund managers see more upsides in Malaysian fixed income given the “positive carry”, undervalued ringgit against the US dollar and the prospect of an interest rate cut by the Bank Negara Malaysia,” it said.
Of the heavyweights, Maybank, Public Bank and TNB rose two sen each to RM9.29, RM22.60 and RM12.30, respectively, while Petronas Chemicals jumped 13 sen to RM8.84.
Of the actives, Bio Osmo was 1.5 sen higher at 4.5 sen, Bumi Armada earned half-a-sen to 20.5 sen, while Sapura Energy eased half-a-sen to 34 sen and Bio Osmo slipped one sen to 6.5 sen.
The FBM Emas Index improved 40.27 points to 11,601.73, the FBMT 100 Index gained 39 points to 11,424.97 and the FBM Ace Index inched up 50.02 points to 4,799.42.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 43.41 points to 11,808.80 and the FBM 70 appreciated 39.53 points to 14,518.02.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index was up 62.93 points to 16,885, the Plantation Index was 14.61 points higher at 7,283.95, while the Industrial Products and Services Index increased 1.53 points to 169.66. — Bernama
