KUALA LUMPUR, June 4 — Bursa Malaysia maintained its upswing to end the morning session higher with notable gains in mid-sized Islamic and conventional capitalisation stocks, said dealers.
At 12.30pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) garnered 12.2 points to 1,550.73 from 1,538.53 at yesterday's close.
The index opened 3.16 points stronger at 1,541.69 this morning and hovered between 1,541.5 and 1,558.48 throughout the early session.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the rotational play still taking place on the lower liners as traders were quick to lock in their gains in healthcare stocks and switched to various sectorial plays.
“In the meantime, buying momentum remains evident on oil and gas stocks in anticipation over the impending Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ meeting that could yield deeper cuts,” the research house said in a note today.
However, at the lunch break, the benchmark Brent crude oil receded 1.46 per cent to US$39.23 (RM167.87) per barrel.
Regionally, Japan’s Nikkei Index improved 0.64 per cent to 22,758.13, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index eased 0.11 per cent 24,298.6 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index trimmed 1.53 per cent to 2,698.86.
Back home, gainers exceeded decliners 547 to 361, while 389 counters were unchanged, 595 untraded and 19 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 4.58 billion units worth RM3.04 billion.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank increased 10 sen to RM8.08, Petronas Chemicals added 43 sen to RM6.96 and IHH Healthcare rose 11 sen to RM5.61.
Meanwhile, Tenaga declined six sen to RM11.92 and Public Bank eased eight sen to RM17.30.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 97.58 points better at 10,900.59, the FBMT 100 Index bagged 95.81 points to 10,758.43, the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 123.34 points to 12,254.06, the FBM ACE added 87.46 points to 5,784.67, and the FBM 70 rose 164.62 points to 13,370.39.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index gained 143.55 points to 13,745.44, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 4.74 points to 139.54, and the Plantation Index improved 49.03 points to 6,845.69. — Bernama
