KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 — Bursa Malaysia extended last week's gains to open higher today, lifted by continuous buying support in selected heavyweight counters, despite mixed trading in the regional bourses and weaker Wall Street.
At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 6.65 points to 1,607.90 from 1,601.25 last Friday.
The index opened 8.67 points lower at 1,609.92.
The market was closed yesterday for Malaysia Day.
On the broader market, gainers surpassed losers 172 to 100, while 193 counters were unchanged, 1,514 untraded and 23 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 280.51 million shares worth RM108.92 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd in a note today said Malaysian equities remain range-bound as the prevailing impetuses have failed to entice fresh buying interest to haul up equity prices.
“At the same time, market participation has been thin and this is further dampening the market’s upward potential.
“For the near term, the insipid trend will continue as geopolitical concerns in the Middle East have heightened,” it said.
It said the cautious undertone would continue to sap market interest and the key index could again drift below 1,600 points, with the next support pegged at the 1,590 level.
Among heavyweights, Maybank and Public Bank were two sen higher at RM8.92 and RM20.16 respectively, TNB fell two sen to RM13.76, IHH Healthcare deducted one sen to RM5.65 and Petronas Chemicals gained 22 sen to RM7.63.
On the scoreboard, the FBM Emas Index increased 43.63 points to 11,354.96, the FBMT 100 Index was 42.90 points higher at 11,188.96 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index edged up 61.43.points to 11,893.53.
The FBM Ace went up 6.13 points to 4,563.14 and the FBM 70 jumped 39.92 points to 14,057.81.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index rose 36.58 points to 15,608.33 and the Plantation Index climbed 2.89 points to 6,828.06 while the Industrial Products and Services added 1.54 points to 154.18. — Bernama
