KUALA LUMPUR, April 23 — Bursa Malaysia opened higher today in tracking the better overnight performance of Wall Street and firmer oil prices, dealers said.
At 9.10am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 1.04 points to 1,623.10, from Monday's close of 1,622.06.
The benchmark index opened 2.06 points firmer at 1,624.12.
On the broader market, however, losers outpaced gainers 159 to 109, while 223 counters were unchanged, 1,425 untraded and 32 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 356.36 million shares worth RM190.06 million.
Public Investment Bank Bhd said the energy sector pushed Wall Street higher after Washington said it would stop giving sanctions waivers to countries that import Iranian crude oil or condensate.
On the local front, it said as the FBM KLCI is entering its consolidation phase, the key index is anticipated to trend sideways in the near term, should there be a re-emergence of buying interest on bargain hunting or whenever the index slips below the 1,622 horizon and towards its 1,600 psychological level.
“Support levels for the index are at 1,590, 1,600 and 1,622, while the resistance is at 1,652, 1,664 and 1,680,” the research firm said in a note today.
Meanwhile, shares of IWCity and Ekovest which hit their limit-up respectively yesterday, have issued separate statements to Bursa Malaysia to clarify that they were not involved in the revived Bandar Malaysia project.
It was reported that the companies were not aware of the reason behind the recent surge in their share prices. They advised investors to exercise caution in the trading of their shares.
Ekovest shares fell nine sen to 88 sen this morning, while IWCity dropped nine sen to RM1.23. Both shares were among the most actively traded stocks.
Separately, Smile-Link Healthcare Global Bhd made its debut on the Bursa Malaysia Leading Entrepreneur Accelerator Platform (LEAP) Market today at 13 sen, a two sen premium over the initial public offer price of 11 sen.
The dental chain Smile-Link is expected to raise gross proceeds of RM10.45 million from its proposed excluded issue, which are intended to be utilised for business expansion (RM7 million), talent development (RM500,00) and working capital (RM1.946 million) and the balance on listing expenses.
At the opening bell, 30,000 shares changed hands.
Meanwhile, among heavyweights, Maybank fell one sen to RM9.14, while Public Bank and Petronas Chemicals were each flat at RM22.54 and RM8.90 respectively.
Tenaga rose 10 sen to RM12.26 and CIMB added two sen to RM5.19.
For the top gainers, CCM rose 13 sen to RM2.16, followed by Tenaga and Tasek which increased nine sen to RM5.90.
The FBM Emas Index shed 1.66 points to 11,555.72, the FBMT 100 Index was 1.33 points better at 11,70.43 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index eased 4.63 points to 11,745.26.
The FBM 70 declined 22.42 points to 14,595.12 and the FBM Ace was higher by 2.63 points to 4,717.82.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index rose 13.37 points to 16,824.91, the Plantation Index perked 2.94 points to 7,211.49 and the Industrial Products & Services Index was 0.09 of-a-point easier at 168.90. — Bernama
