KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17 — Bursa Malaysia extended yesterday’s gains to opened higher this morning in tandem with an uptrend in regional bourses, thanks to positive market sentiment.
As at 9.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 3.1 points firmer at 1,590.98 from yesterday's close of 1,587.77.
The index opened 0.94 points easier at 1,586.96 but managed to rebound two minutes after trading as investors took a cue from the strong overnight performance of Wall Street with the S&P Index recorded new all-time high.
The overall market breadth on Bursa was positive with gainers trouncing losers 162 to 77, while 191 counters remained unchanged, 1,537 untraded and 24 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 136.12 million shares worth RM52.23 million.
In a note, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the local bourse might stage further recovery to close the week on a positive note.
“With the recovery in sight as investors bargain hunt beaten-down stocks, the FBM KLCI may trend higher as the key index looks to play catch-up with the strong gains recorded across global equities last year,” the research house said.
It projected the sustainable mild recovery might push the key index to re-test the 1,590 level, followed by the 1,600 psychological level, while the 1,565 remained as the support level followed by the 1,550.
Malacca Securities said the lower liners and broader market shares are expected to remain in the consolidation band as gains took a breather following the recent run-up.
“Nevertheless, we note that strong trading interests emerged in construction and building materials stocks,” it added.
Of the heavyweights, Maybank and Petronas Chemicals added one sen each to RM8.62 and RM7.07 respectively, Public Bank rose 14 sen to RM19.70, Tenaga perked six sen to RM12.96, while CIMB and IHH Healthcare were flat at RM5.17 and RM5.58 respectively.
Among the actives, Vortex and Alam Maritim inched up half-a-sen each to 12.5 sen and 16 sen, Sapura Energy bagged one sen to 28 sen, while Yong Tai, Icon and Hubline were flat at 14.5 sen, 3.5 sen and four sen respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased 21.11 points to 11,336.81, the FBM Emas Shariah Index improved 17.91 points to 11,965.41, the FBMT 100 Index gained 20.18 points to 11,125.18, the FBM 70 perked 19.72 points to 14,200.42, and the FBM Ace added 3.08 points to 5,589.11.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.22 of a point to 154.23, the Financial Services Index advanced 38.68 points to 15,439.33 and the Plantation Index bagged 13.77 points to 7,533.19. — Bernama
