KUALA LUMPUR, June 2 — Shares on Bursa Malaysia were higher at mid-afternoon buoyed by higher crude oil prices, which rose to the highest level since October 2018 after Opec+ provided an upbeat assessment of the demand outlook.
The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 11.25 points or 0.71 per cent to 1,597.15 from 1,585.90 at Tuesday’s close.
At the opening bell, the composite index was 0.43 of-a-point lower at 1,585.47.
Market breadth remained positive with gainers beating losers 677 to 342, while 417 counters were unchanged, 698 untraded, and 11 others suspended.
Total volume stood at 5.42 billion units worth RM2.83 billion.
A dealer said as an oil exporting country, Malaysia will benefit from the virtual Opec meeting today, which was attended by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.
Mustapa said in a statement today that the total global demand for crude oil in the second half of 2020 was 83 million barrels per day and this was expected to increase to 94 million barrels per day in the same period this year.
“On average, Brent crude oil for the January to May 2021 period stood at US$63 per barrel compared with US$40 per barrel in the same period last year,” he said.
Besides the transportation and logistics, construction, and financial services, the energy index improved, adding 5.05 points to 831.49.
Meanwhile, Petronas-linked companies, Petronas Gas jumped 22 sen or 1.36 per cent to RM16.42 and Petronas Dagangan was 24 sen or 1.28 per cent higher at RM19.06, while PChem slipped one sen or 0.12 per cent to RM8.04.
Among the 30 FBM KLCI counters, CIMB rose 10 sen to RM4.55, both Axiata and RHB which are partnering to form a consortium saw their shares up by nine sen and 17 sen to RM3.81 and 5.47 respectively.
Top Glove and Hartalega were flat at RM5.09 and RM8.91 respectively.
Of the actives, Serba Dinamik rose 1.5 sen to 85 sen, Joe Holding and Vortex Consolidated gained half-a-sen each to 4.5 sen and 10.5 sen respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index expanded 103.73 points to 11,619.64 and the FBMT 100 Index shot up 95.81 points to 11,313.93.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 87.27 points to 12,839.95, the FBM 70 put on 189.46 points to 14,989.43, and the FBM ACE edged up 28.41 points to 7,745.56.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index climbed 181.95 points to 15,266.85, the Plantation Index gained 17.90 points to 6,849.83, and the Industrial Products and Services Index was 1.82 points better at 193.07. — Bernama
