KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 23 — Bursa Malaysia opened slightly lower today but rebounded thereafter, driven by continued buying support in selected heavyweights, dealers said.
At 9.15am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.54 points to 1,503.86 from 1,500.32 on Wednesday.
The index opened 0.51 of-a-point weaker at 1,499.81.
On the broader market, gainers led losers 189 to 117, while 198 counters were unchanged, 1,798 untraded and 16 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 158.55 million units valued at RM87.89 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd, in a research note today, said buying interest in local equities generally is expected to pick up further, with several stocks undergoing window-dressing activities which may last until year-end.
“Overall market conditions have improved on the local front and the FBMKLCI managed to secure above the 1,500 level, thanks to the glove heavyweights.
“Meanwhile, Wall Street gained momentum overnight, rebounding for the second consecutive day amid fading concerns over Covid-19 Omicron variant, given that the hospitalisation rate and symptoms are much milder compared to the Delta variant,” it said.
According to the research firm, investors may pick up on recovery-theme stocks, as well as financials on the back of fading Omicron fears, as well as window-dressing activities, while there might be trading interest on the oil and gas sector amid firmer crude oil price.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank slipped 2.0 sen to RM8.20, CIMB fell 1.0 sen to RM5.37, Public Bank was flat at RM4.10, while Petronas Chemicals rose 3.0 sen to RM8.80 and IHH Healthcare gained 4.0 sen to RM6.59.
Of the actives, Bintai Kinded earned half-a-sen to 23 sen, while Kejuruteraan Asastera and Dataprep were flat at 25.5 sen and 85.5 sen, respectively, while Visdynamics declined 28 sen to RM1.07.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 26.65 points higher at 10,911.60 and the FBMT 100 Index went up 26.22 points to 10,620.19, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 43.98 points to 11,702.36.
The FBM 70 rose 39.60 points to 13,928.89 while the FBM ACE shed 18.07 points to 6,200.09.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index earned 0.28 of-a-point to 194.69, the Financial Services Index erased 14.39 points to 15,352.10, and the Plantation Index improved 17.99 points to 6,403.34. — Bernama
