KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 — Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session firmer today, in line with most regional peers.
Investor sentiment was buoyed by the positive outcome from the meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, in resolving the trade dispute between the two countries.
Meeting on the sidelines of the recent G-20 summit in Japan, both Trump and Xi agreed to hold off on further tariffs, as negotiations continue.
At 12.30pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 6.33 points to 1,678.46 from 1,672.13 at Friday’s closing.
The index moved between 1,674.91 and 1,680.96 in the morning session.
Overall market breadth was positive, as gainers outpaced losers 519 to 208, with 346 counters unchanged, 755 untraded and 18 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.94 billion units worth RM1.05 million.
In a note today, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd said following the trade truce, the simmering trade war between the US and China may be seen to be off the boil, at least for now.
“ Though nothing concrete has been laid on the plate, many observers expect both parties to resist making anymore irrational moves on tariffs.
“Therefore, we believe investors are now less jittery, and may be pouring funds back into equities,” it added.
Regionally, the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 1.25 per cent to 3,363.28, Japan’s Nikkei was 1.96 per cent better at 21,693.66 and Shanghai’s SSE edged up 1.88 per cent to 3,034.80.
Meanwhile, another dealer believed news that Saudi Arabia and Russia had agreed to cut crude oil production, should also be positive to oil and gas (O&G)- related counters.
Among heavyweights, O&G-linked blue chip Petronas Chemicals jumped 14 sen to RM8.54, followed by Axiata which increased 11 sen to RM5.09, RHB gained 20 sen to RM5.79, Tenaga added 10 sen to RM13.94 and Digi was four sen higher at RM5.09.
Of the most actively-trade stocks, KNM advanced 4.5 sen to 30.0 sen. while its warrant bagged 4.5 sen to 10.5 sen, Bumi Armada ticked up one sen to 22.5 sen, Ekovest gained 2.5 sen to 87.5 sen, Perdana Petroleum bagged 4.5 sen to 39 sen and IWCITY was four sen better at RM1.10.
MPI led the top gainers list by jumping 57 sen to RM9.79, while top loser, Nestle, eased 50 sen to RM148.60.
The FBM Emas Index climbed 63.99 points to 11,845.57, the FBMT 100 Index increased 58.31 points to 11,689.96 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 71.72 higher at 12,204.67.
The FBM 70 surged 131.24 points to 14,730.95 and the FBM Ace leapt 77.57 points to 4,523.02.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index gained 65.98 points to 16,752.59, the Industrial Products & Services Index inched up 1.24 points to 161.96, but the Plantation Index declined 35.95 points to 6,932.95. — Bernama
