KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 18 — Bursa Malaysia opened lower today but rebounded thereafter as investors sought beaten-down counters.
At 9.30am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 0.77 of-a-point to 1,513.84 from yesterday's close of 1,513.07.
The index opened 1.29 points lower at 1,511,78.
Gainers thumped losers 314 to 247, while 347 counters were unchanged, 1,177 untraded and 41 others suspended.
Total volume stood at 1.02 billion units worth RM715.82 million.
Malacca Securities said the renewed volatility seen yesterday will keep traders on their toes as quick profit-taking activities may limit any significant upsides over the near term.
The FBM KLCI appears to have taken a breather after a three-day uptrend, allowing earlier gains to be digested whilst re-assessing the current market condition.
“We see consumer stocks on a recovery path with consumer spending picking up in recent months, particularly furniture-related players that are on the roll, premised on the improved demand following the adoption of work-from-home.
“Meanwhile, the improved crude palm oil and crude oil prices may garner some trading interest within the plantation and energy stocks,” it said in a note.
The oil rose as the market responded favourably to Opec’s meeting outcome. Opec and its allies have indicated that they would crack down on countries that failed to comply with output cuts.
Among the heavyweights, Top Glove recovered from yesterday's pressure, increasing 18 sen to RM7.97, Hartalega was 20 sen firmer at RM14.30 and IOI improved five sen to RM4.44.
Maybank remained weak, declining one sen to RM7.36 and Axiata dropping two sen to RM3.03.
Meanwhile, CME went up one sen to 12.5 sen, MCT rose two sen to 21 sen, Kanger was flat at 30 sen and Nexgram lost half-a-sen to 4.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose slightly by 3.5 points to 10,862.19 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index expanded 26.69 points to 12,816.22.
The FBM 70 gave up 24.60 points to 13,964.72, the FBMT 100 Index was 0.62 of-a-point weaker at 10,677.00 and the FBM ACE leaped 17.07 points to 11,163.49.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index stayed in the red, decreasing 42.39 points to 12,692.46, the Plantation Index inching up 14.48 points to 7,112.18, while the Industrial Products and Services Index sliding 0.18 points to 135.73. — Bernama
