KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 13 — Bursa Malaysia opened higher in early trade today, tracking closely the positive overnight performance of the US equities markets, as investors lauded European Central Bank (ECB) move to launch fresh stimulus.
At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 1.69 points to 1,602.69 compared to yesterday’s close of 1,601.0.
At the opening, the market barometre was 0.31 of-a-point lower at 1,600.69.
The ECB yesterday cut its main deposit rate by 10 basis points to -0.5 per cent and a introduced a new bond-buying program, which will entail 20 billion euros per month of asset purchases for as long as it deems necessary.
At home, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said stronger impetuses are required to ensure a sustainable uptrend as the recent gains have seen little support, resulting in the key index lingering within a tight band of between the 1,590 and 1,610 levels.
“Although we think that the key index could regain some of its lost ground to end the week, we still think the market’s undercurrent remains indifferent and this could also mean that any near term upsides will be limited,” it said in a note.
In addition, most market players are still unsure of the market’s direction, keeping many players on the sidelines and the overall market participation on the thin side.
Topping the heavyweights’ list, Maybank rose three sen to RM8.93, Petronas Chemicals bagged five sen to RM7.56, Tenaga was four sen higher at RM13.48 and CIMB added two sen to RM5.02.
Of the actives, Green Packet and Bumi Armada were both flat at 25.5 sen and 27.5 sen respectively.
Vsolar advanced by half-a-sen to 11 sen and I-Stone gained one sen to 18.5 sen.
The FBM Emas Index recovered 12.99 points to 11,296.06, the FBMT100 Index increased 13.00 points to 11,130.88 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index appreciated 5.16 points to 11,811.57.
The FBM Ace expanded 2.69 points to 4,531.48 and the FBM 70 inched up 21.63 points to 13,894.75.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index up 38.37 points to 15,588.76, the Plantation Index improved 4.05 points to 6,806.36 and the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.44 of-a-point up at 153.33.
There are 116 gainers, 75 losers on Bursa Malaysia, while 177 counters remained unchanged, 1,611 untraded and 23 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 152.89 million units worth RM48.19 million. — Bernama
