KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 — Bursa Malaysia has extended its rally to midday, with the key index rising by 2.04 per cent thanks to the persistent buying momentum in banking-related stocks amidst positive regional sentiment, dealers said.
At 12.30 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) surged 31.02 points to 1,555.34 after fluctuating between 1,516.54 and 1,556.08 throughout the morning session.
Public Bank soared RM1.68 to RM16.98, Maybank rose 42 sen to RM7.54, Hong Leong Bank increased RM1.14 to RM15.84, CIMB advanced 23 sen to RM3.29 and RHB Bank bagged 35 sen to RM4.73.
Gains in these banking stocks saw the Financial Services Index surging 817.05 points to 13,084.32, and contributed a substantial 36.61 points to the rise in the composite index.
A dealer said banking counters were on the rise as the blanket moratorium has not been extended under Budget 2021, which bodes well for banks’ earnings.
Meanwhile, Hartalega led the losers list among the 30 FBM KLCI index constituents after it dropped by 11.75 per cent or RM2.14 to RM16.08; followed by Top Glove which trimmed six sen to RM7.88, as the positive progress of vaccine development curbed risk appetite for rubber glove counters.
On the scoreboard, gainers outpaced losers 660 to 589, while 493 counters were unchanged, 406 untraded and 33 others suspended.
Total volume stood at 7.8 billion shares worth RM4.9 billion.
Among other heavyweights, Tenaga rose 58 sen to RM10.84 and Petronas Chemicals added 16 sen to RM6.53.
Of the actives, AT Systematization shed 3.5 sen to 18 sen, AirAsia X and Netx bagged 2.5 sen each to 6.5 sen and 16.5 sen, respectively, while both Kanger and Pegasus inched up half-a-sen to 19.5 sen and three sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index chalked up 163.97 points to 11,204.17, the FBMT 100 Index soared 169.89 points to 11,002.63, and the FBM 70 bagged 30.72 points to 14,519.77.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index erased 128.15 points to 13,204.76 and the FBM ACE fell 318.6 points to 11,056.57.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 1.08 points to 152.33 and the Plantation Index gained 5.87 points to 7,154.6. — Bernama
