KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 20 — Bursa Malaysia opened slightly higher tracking the better performance of regional peers after a rally on Wall Street as investors rejoiced over news of a drop in new Covid-19 cases in China.

At the same time, policymakers are also rolling out measures to tackle the impact of the virus outbreak on their economies with Malaysia among the first countries to introduce stimulus package on February 27.

At 9.01am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.96 points to 1,538.12 from Wednesday’s close of 1,534.16, after opening 2.94 points better at 1,537.10 this morning.

Gainers led losers by 153 to 64 on the broader market, with 152 counters unchanged, 1,613 untraded and 40 others suspended. 

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Turnover amounted to 90.28 million shares worth RM42.67 million.

In a note, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said, despite the slight increase seen in the local bourse, overall, the market sentiment and confidence are still taking a hit.

“The downside pressure on Bursa Malaysia will continue to linger over the foreseeable future. On the downside, there are supports at the 1,515-1,520 levels. The resistances are at 1,550 and 1,560 respectively as stability returns to the fore,” it said.

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However, the research house expects some mild recovery as investors were quick to lock in any profits in view of further market uncertainties.

Among the heavyweights on Bursa Malaysia, Maybank rose six sen to RM8.46, Tenaga jumped 10 sen to RM12.70, Public Bank soared 14 sen to RM18.08 while Petronas Chemicals was one sen higher at RM6.55.

Of the actives, market debutante Innature, which is the retailing and distribution of The Body Shop products, rose 7.5 sen to 71.5 sen, JAG and Powerwell inched up half-a-sen each to 4.5 sen and 37 sen respectively while DGB Asia was half-a-sen weaker at 6.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index advanced 21.55 points to 11,006.94, the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 16.99 points to 11,732.36 and the FBMT 100 Index was 22.66 points better at 10,795.84.

The FBM 70 rose 8.28 points to 13,945.38 but the FBM Ace edged up 1.69 points to 5,612.70.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index fell 0.13 point to 146.30, the Financial Services Index appreciated 39.76 points to 14,691.14 and the Plantation Index was 4.88 points higher at 7,185.10. — Bernama