.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, April 8 ― Bursa Malaysia was higher at mid-morning today, supported by persistent buying in heavyweight stocks, led by the healthcare counters.
At 11.06am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 6.11 points to 1,606.70 from yesterday’s close of 1,600.59.
The index opened 0.78 of-a-point easier at 1,599.81.
However, on the broader market, losers led gainers 481 versus 416, while 429 counters were unchanged, 830 untraded and 25 others suspended.
Total volume stood at 3.20 billion shares worth RM1.85 billion.
In a note today, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd said the Wall Street was cautiously optimistic following the Federal Reserves’ ongoing accommodative policies.
Although the Nasdaq had eased, the S&P 500 closed on another record high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 16 points to 33,446.26.
“As such, we reckon regional markets to remain mixed on the absence of any clear buying catalysts.
“On the home front, it would be interesting to see if the FBM KLCI is able to sustain above the 1,600 today after the last minute spike yesterday. Nonetheless, we expect sentiments to stay tepid and the index to trend within the 1,595 - 1,605 range today,” it added.
Of the heavyweights, Maybank fell 16 sen to RM8.32, Public Bank shed two sen to RM4.20, Petronas Chemicals eased one sen to RM7.94, Tenaga reduced six sen to RM10.20 and IHH Healthcare slipped seven sen to RM5.33.
Meanwhile, top index contributors Top Glove rose 43 sen to RM5.34, Hartalega surged 85 sen to RM10.10, Supermax soared 66 sen to RM4.69 and Maxis gained 10 sen to RM4.70.
Among the active counters, LKL increased 15.5 sen to 44 sen, Luster improved one sen to 24.5 sen, AT Systematization added 1.5 sen to 11 sen, HLT Global gained 16.5 sen to RM1.02 and Pasukhas edged up half-a-sen to three sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was up 35.10 points to 11,881.09, the FBMT 100 increased 32.10 points to 11,528.24, the FBM Emas Shariah surged 115.26 points to 13,238.24, and the FBM ACE soared 227.26 points to 9,864.80, while the FBM 70 eased 0.83 of-a-point to 15,847.67.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index went down 38.87 points to 7,039.04, and the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.04 of-a-point to 194.84, and the Financial Services Index dropped 132.53 points to 15,246.68. ― Bernama
