KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 ― Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session in positive territory on persistent buying support in heavyweight stocks, led by the healthcare counters.
At lunch break, the FBM KLCI was 1.69 points better at 1,602.28 from yesterday’s close of 1,600.59.
The index opened 0.78 of-a-point easier at 1,599.81, and moved between 1,599.51 and 1,609.39 throughout the morning session.
However, on the broader market, losers led gainers 519 versus 486, while 419 counters were unchanged, 732 untraded and 25 others suspended.
Total volume stood at 4.54 billion shares worth RM2.61 billion.
A dealer said the local bourse had opened easier but rebounded thereafter; remaining on an uptrend until the end of the morning session as buying support in glove counters continued to support the barometer index.
“The FBM KLCI is able to sustain above the 1,600 today, but sentiments remain tepid on the absence of any clear buying catalysts,” he added.
Meanwhile, he said regional peers were mixed today, taking the cue from the overnight Wall Street's cautious gains after the United States (US) Federal Reserve reiterated its commitment to keep interest rates low until the US economy makes a more secure recovery.
Singapore’s Straits Times Index edged up 0.05 per cent to 3,197.49, Japan’s Nikkei was 0.25 per cent easier at 29,747.46, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up by 0.83 per cent to 28,913.50, and South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.04 per cent to 3,136.49.
Back home, heavyweights Maybank fell 18 sen to RM8.30, Public Bank shed two sen to RM4.20, Petronas Chemicals slipped 10 sen to RM7.85, Tenaga reduced four sen to RM10.22 and IHH Healthcare was down eight sen to RM5.32.
Top index contributors Top Glove rose 42 sen to RM5.33, Hartalega surged 74 sen to RM9.90, Supermax soared 63 sen to RM4.66 and Maxis gained nine sen to RM4.69.
Among the active counters, LKL increased 15.5 sen to 44 sen, Luster improved two sen to 25.5 sen, AT Systematization and KTG edged up half-a-sen each to 10 sen and 27.5 sen, respectively, and Berjaya Corp added one sen to 46 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was up 14.54 points to 11,860.53, the FBMT 100 increased 9.90 points to 11,506.66, the FBM Emas Shariah surged 91.42 points to 13,214.40, the FBM ACE soared 283.53 points to 9,921.07 and the FBM 70 gained 5.19 points to 15,853.69.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index went down 90.43 points to 6,987.48, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.83 of-a-point to 194.05, and the Financial Services Index dropped 160.20 points to 15,219.01. ― Benama
