KUALA LUMPUR, July 27 — Bursa Malaysia opened higher today, tracking the modest gains of regional peers, a dealer said.
At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 3.98 points better at 1,516.51 from Monday’s close of 1,512.53.
The index opened 3.2 points higher at 1,524.47.
On the broader market, gainers led losers at 211 versus 151, while 238 counters were unchanged, 1,626 untraded and 30 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 273.93 million units worth RM108.76 million.
In a research note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the FBM KLCI and the broader market had slumped yesterday, in line with the negative performances of China and Hong Kong markets amidst concerns over tightening regulations on selected sectors.
“However, we expected bargain hunting activities to emerge on the local bourse after the selldown, as market players might have priced in news from China or Hong Kong.
“Meanwhile, investors should focus on vaccination rates instead of the ongoing high number of daily Covid-19 cases as the government will be looking to the resumption of business activities, going forward,” it noted.
Commodity-wise, the brokerage firm said both crude palm oil (CPO) and crude oil have extended their gains.
In terms of sectors, the market is expected to see buying interest emerging in plantation and oil and gas stocks amid rising prices after the heavy sell-down yesterday, while technology stocks could also witness higher buying interest after experiencing some sell-down yesterday, it added.
Of the heavyweights, Maybank added one sen to RM8.01, Public Bank rose three sen to RM4.03, TNB gained two sen to RM9.72 and IHH Healthcare advanced five sen to RM5.82.
Petronas Chemicals was flat at RM7.99.
Among the actives, BCM Alliance’s warrant fell 11.5 sen to half-a-sen, while BCM Alliance eased half-a-sen to 15 sen.
Serba Dinamik and its warrant bagged one sen each to 43 sen and 10 sen, respectively, while PUC edged up half-a-sen to 18 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased 31.19 points to 11,125.50, the FBM ACE advanced 33.90 points to 7,357.40 and the FBM 70 perked 29.92 points to 14,637.86.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index was 22.47 points better at 12,239.33 and the FBMT 100 Index went up 26.74 points to 10,820.01.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index rose 63.72 points to 14,816.96, the Plantation Index increased 40.64 points to 6,229.92, while the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.15 of-a-point to 189.16. — Bernama
