KUALA LUMPUR, July 21 — Bursa Malaysia opened marginally higher today after its one-day break for the Aidiladha celebration, taking its cue from the better overnight performance of the Wall Street.
The United States stock markets clawed back losses after a global rout on Monday, as investors shifted their focus to economic growth and downplayed concerns on the spread of the Delta coronavirus variant, dealers said.
At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) improved 0.64 of-a-point to 1,520.61 from Monday’s close of 1,519.97.
The index opened 1.40 points higher at 1,521.37.
However, market breadth was negative with losers edging past gainers 175 to 160, while 309 counters were unchanged, 1,599 untraded and 18 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 261.32 million units worth RM150.66 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the FBM KLCI retreated on Monday due to last-minute profit-taking activities prior to the Aidiladha public holiday, mirroring the weakness across the regional markets.
Nevertheless, it said buying interest emerged in selected recovery-themed sectors after the Enhanced movement control order (EMCO) was lifted in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.
“Despite the rebound on Wall Street, we expected some initial selling activities on the local bourse before recovering for the session, but the upside is likely to be capped amidst the high number of daily Covid-19 cases, which could dampen the pace of economic recovery,” the brokerage firm said.
Sector-wise, it noted that the recovery in Nasdaq could see technology stocks gaining traction for the week.
“Additionally, there might be follow-through buying interest emerging in sectors such as consumer, construction and property after the EMCO was lifted in several localities,” it added.
Of the heavyweights, Maybank gained two sen to RM8.05, Petronas Chemicals added five sen to RM8.05, TNB and IHH Healthcare improved one sen each to RM9.77 and RM5.76, respectively, while Public Bank was flat at RM4.04.
Among the actives, ACE Market debutant Haily Group rose nine sen to 77 sen, Ramssol Group bagged 4.5 sen to 71.5 sen, and Pasukhas warrant expanded 2.5 sen to 71.5 sen.
Meanwhile, Pasukhas slipped 1.5 sen to nine sen while Sapura Energy was flat at 12 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased 6.91 points to 11,119.38, the FBMT 100 Index firmed 7.18 points to 10,822.95, and the FBM ACE advanced 20.55 points to 7,279.76.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index was 10.71 points better at 12,200.04, and the FBM 70 perked 20.10 points to 14,539.39.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index increased 10.49 points to 14,882.41, the Plantation Index added 5.31 points to 6,240.20, and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.52 of-a-point to 188.91. — Bernama
