.JPG "An investor monitors the stock prices in the gallery of the RHB Investment Bank Bhd headquarters in Kuala Lumpur March 17, 2020. u00e2u20acu2022 Picture by Hari Anggara")
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 4 — Bursa Malaysia rebounded to open higher today, following yesterday’s steep decline while tracking Wall Street’s overnight positive performance.
At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 5.14 points to 1,577.75 from 1,572.61 at yesterday’s close.
The key index opened 5.63 points firmer at 1,578.24 at 9am.
Market breadth was positive, with gainers leading losers 363 to 105, while 277 counters were unchanged, 1,218 untraded and 15 others suspended.
Trading volume stood at 727.48 million shares worth RM403.83 million.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.9 per cent, driven by surging optimism over the upcoming stimulus bill which offset simmering geopolitical tension with China.
In a research note, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd said tracking the better overnight performance on Wall Street, it expected the local and regional markets to trend higher today, with the benchmark index to possibly test the 1,590 level today, which is the immediate resistance.
Meanwhile, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the FBM KLCI is likely to remain in the consolidation mode with mild bargain hunting activities to take precedence.
“Any weakness is likely to be cushioned by gains in glove heavyweights. On the other hand, the lower liners, particularly FBM ACE stocks will be spurred by the record high trading volumes,” it said.
The brokerage firm also noted that rising Covid-19 cases across the globe will continue to spur demand for healthcare-related products.
“We also continue to favour the technology stocks following the record closing on Nasdaq overnight, while plantation stocks should take pace with CPO prices rising back above RM2,700 per tonne,” said Malacca Securities.
Of the heavyweights, Maybank rose six sen to RM7.56, Public Bank added 16 sen o RM16.72, Tenaga gained eight sen to RM11.18, Petronas Chemicals recovered five sen to RM5.95 and Hap Seng increased 11 sen to RM8.62.
Of the most actives, AT gained one sen to 11 sen, Key Alliance added two sen to 14 sen, while MQTech and K1 added four sen each to 26 sen and 63.5 sen respectively.
Top gainers MPI elevated 76 sen to RM15.98, Adventa advanced 61 sen to RM4.32 and Rubberex was 54 sen higher at RM7.10.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index edged up 53.07 points to 11,315.65, the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 56.47 points firmer at 13,400.67 but the FBMT 100 Index strengthened 46.12 points to 11,134.48.
The FBM 70 marched 99.06 points to 14,589.32 and the FBM ACE jumped 262.77 points to 9,439.59.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index increased 1.45 points to 140.51, the Financial Services Index rose 74.71 points to 12,916.82 and the Plantation Index bagged 5.68 points to 7,044.16. — Bernama
