KUALA LUMPUR, May 17 — Bursa Malaysia rebounded on early trade today, in line with the advance in US equity markets.
At 9.08am, the key FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was up 3.09 points to 1,602.28, led mainly by Public Bank, Dialog and Digi.
The index opened 0.13 of-a-point higher at 1,599.32.
Gainers outpaced losers 179 to 69, with 141 counters unchanged, 1,522 untraded and 36 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 112.27 million worth RM48.16 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the overnight global market positivity would lend a potential near-term recovery for Malaysian stocks.
“While a positive end to the week is likely, significant gains would be elusive, with traders quick to lock-in profits,” it said in a research note .
The Dow gained 214.66 points to 25,862.68, while the S&P 500 rose 25.36 points to 2,876.32, on upbeat US corporate earnings results, economic data and oil prices.
According to Malacca Securities, the overall market environment is still largely cautious amid the unresolved US-Sino trade dispute, and especially after China threatened to retaliate against US sanctions seen as an attempt to restrict international trade by Chinese technology giant, Huawei.
“At the same time, Malaysia’s economic undertone is expected to turn weaker over the coming quarters, despite managing to put in a decent performance in the first quarter 2019,” it said.
Bursa Malaysia also remains cautious amid the current local corporate results season.
Among heavyweights, Public Bank added 12 sen to RM22.38, Dialog rose eight sen to RM3.30 and Digi went up five sen to RM4.70.
Maybank and Maxis increased three sen each to RM8.99 and RM5.33 respectively.
Of the actively-traded stocks, Impiana Hotel was unchanged at four sen, Bumi Armada expanded half-a-sen to 19.5 sen and Grand-Flo advanced four sen to 24.5 sen.
The FBM Emas Index was up 27.45 points to 11,290.83, the FBMT 100 Index jumped 30.44 points to 11,127.56 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index improved 23.63 points to 11,455.81.
The FBM 70 appreciated 74.31 points to 13,893.01 and the FBM Ace rose 4.92 points to 4,431.30.
Sectorwise, the Financial Services Index gained 23.07 points to 16,519.79, but the Plantation Index was weaker by 3.68 points at 6,868.98 and the Industrial Products & Services Index was 0.46 of-a-point lower at 163.61. — Bernama
