KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 31 — Bursa Malaysia opened lower but turned higher this morning, lifted by selected heavyweights led by IHH Healthcare and Press Metal.
At 9.06am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) improved 1.16 points to 1,521.18 from 1,520.02 at Friday’s close, after opening 0.3 of-a-point lower at 1519.72.
Market breadth was positive with gainers leading losers 192 to 135, while 161 counters were unchanged, 1,760 untraded and 52 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 109.91 million units worth RM54.79 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said regional markets would remain volatile ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday.
“As for the local bourse, trading will only be for the morning session today. Hence, we believe participation would be rather muted.
“Therefore, we expect FBM KLCI to hover within the 1,515-1,525 range today. Meanwhile, crude palm oil is set to end January on a record high as it closed at RM5,610/tonne last week,” he told Bernama.
Regionally, Singapore’s Straits Times Index rose 0.46 per cent to 3,261.34, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.39 per cent to 26,822.41, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is closed ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.
Bursa Malaysia’s heavyweights IHH Healthcare advanced five sen to RM6.45, Press Metal increased four sen to RM6.13, Axiata Group gained three sen to RM3.77, and Hong Leong Financial Group strengthened 22 sen to RM18.68.
As for the actives, Daya Materials inched up half a sen to one sen, Hibiscus Petroleum gained 4.5 sen to 99.5 sen, Pertama Digital up two sen to 68.5 sen, while AirasiaX inched down half a sen to 4.5 sen.
On the index board, FBM ACE slid 19.17 points to 6039.86, while FBM 70 improved 24.15 points to 13,385.36, FBM Emas Index firmed 5.97 points to 10907.01, FBMT 100 Index gained 10.58 points to 10,617.74, and FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 11.92 points to 11,592.51.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index eased 0.06 of-a-point to 15,779.58, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.31 of-a-point better at 200.72, and the Plantation Index slipped 21.810 points to 6,628.30.
Bursa Malaysia will be traded for only half day on the eve of the Chinese New Year and close for two days on February 1 and 2 for the Chinese New Year celebration. — Bernama
