KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 ― Bursa Malaysia opened higher today with the key index rising by 0.08 per cent on bargain-hunting activities.
At 9.01am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 1.21 points to 1,556.47 from Wednesday’s close of 1,555.26.
It opened 1.09 points better at 1,556.35.
Bursa Malaysia and its subsidiaries were closed yesterday in conjunction with Malaysia Day.
Market breadth was positive with gainers surpassing losers 196 to 98, while 272 counters were unchanged, 1,702 untraded and 10 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 123.69 million units worth RM49.12 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said bargain-hunting activities should emerge with the return of foreign participation in the local stock market on the back of resumption of economic activities following further relaxation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) under the National Recovery Plan (NRP).
“Further relaxation on NRP SOPs should continue to drive investors’ interest in accumulating recovery theme stocks such as building materials and consumer,” it said in a note today.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank and Public Bank rose one sen each to RM8.30 and RM4.02, respectively, and Petronas Chemicals bagged three sen to RM8.04, while IHH Healthcare was flat at RM6.58 and Press Metal Aluminium eased two sen to RM5.72.
Of the actives, Malayan United Industries, Impiana Hotels and Ageson were flat at 8.5 sen, 8.5 sen and 7.5 sen, respectively.
The top gainers were Fraser and Neave Holdings which improved 34 sen to RM27.38, Genetec Technology which advanced 20 sen to RM35.38, and Subur Tiasa Holdings which climbed 15 sen to 85 sen.
Among the top losers, Sam Engineering lost 18 sen to RM14.30, Petronas Gas erased eight sen to RM16.80, and Telekom Malaysia fell six sen to RM5.91.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 11.10 points to 11,406.95, the FBMT 100 Index was 10.19 points higher at 11,096.47, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 3.79 points to 12,481.58.
The FBM 70 firmed 19.84 points to 14,978.21 while the FBM ACE bagged 29.50 points to 7,225.25.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index shed 13.76 points to 6,505.69, the Industrial Products and Services Index went up 0.30 of-a-point to 200.00, and the Financial Services Index perked 26.99 points to 15,291.50. ― Bernama
