KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 6 — Bursa Malaysia remained on the uptrend at mid-afternoon on continued buying interest in all index-linked counters, analysts said.
At 3.21pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 0.84 per cent or 12.99 points to 1,549.78 from yesterday’s close of 1,536.79.
The benchmark index opened 4.09 points higher at 1,540.88.
On the broader market, gainers trumped losers 578 to 291, with 324 counters unchanged, 784 untraded and 23 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 2.17 billion shares worth RM1.40 billion.
An analyst said news reports on China’s move to halve its tariffs on some United States (US) products to five per cent and 2.5 per cent respectively, starting Feb 14, have boosted investors’ sentiment.
The announcement came a day after US President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, where he described the country’s current relationship with China as the best it had ever had.
“It is a good start as both parties move on to Phase 2 of the trade deal negotiations. And in the wake of the Coronavirus economic tumult, it is not much of a stretch to assume China is eager to start the negotiations,” said AxiCorp’s chief market strategist Stephen Innes.
Among the heavyweights, MISC gained 29 sen to RM8.25, Genting Malaysia rose eight sen to RM3.02, Public Bank gained 40 sen to RM18.40 and Sime Darby Plantation increased eight sen to RM5.18.
Maybank added eight sen to RM8.44 and Tenaga recovered two sen to RM12.78.
Of the actives, AirAsia Group was up seven sen to RM1.23, Bumi Armada rose three sen to 41 sen, MTouche eased one sen to 17 sen and Alam Maritim bagged one sen to 15 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index soared 95.93 points to 11,033.27, the FBM Emas Shariah Index bagged 76.61 points to 11,769.38 and the FBMT 100 Index accumulated 89.68 points to 10,834.93.
The FBM 70 jumped 109.64 points to 13,820.94 and the FBM Ace recovered 48.07 points to 5,455.97.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 1.27 points to 145.80, the Financial Services Index was 155.47 points higher at 14,833.89 and the Plantation Index was up 71.33 points to 7,295.12. — Bernama
