.JPG "An investor monitors the stock prices in the gallery of the RHB Investment Bank Bhd headquarters in Kuala Lumpur March 17, 2020. u00e2u20acu2022 Picture by Hari Anggara")
KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 — Bursa Malaysia continued to open higher today, lifted by improving sentiments over a respite in the rise of crude oil prices following the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) call to increase oil supply, a dealer said.
At 9.04am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 12.54 points to 1,574.87 from 1,562.33 at Wednesday’s close.
The index opened 8.38 points stronger at 1,570.71.
On the broader market, gainers surpassed losers 303 to 107, while 178 counters were unchanged, 1,699 untraded and 13 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 238.57 million units worth RM169.65 million.
According to news reports, the UAE, together with the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Allies, has maintained its commitment to boost oil supply by 400,000 barrels a day per month to fill the supply gap due to the Ukraine-Russia war.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of Equity Research, Thong Pak Leng said the United States (US) equities also rebounded sharply over the positive sentiments, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI Average) rising 654 points to 33,286.25 points and Nasdaq adding 460 points to close above the 13,000 mark.
“Meanwhile, the US 10-year yield also ended higher at around 1.95 per cent," he told Bernama.
He added that crude palm oil price had surged closer to the RM7,700-level again, while oil benchmark Brent crude eased to US$112 per barrel.
Back home, Thong said the FBM KLCI is expected to maintain its uptrend and hover within the 1,555-1,575 range.
Among the heavyweights, both Maybank and Petronas Chemicals were 17 sen higher at RM8.98 and RM10.14, respectively, Public Bank and IHH Healthcare added 10 sen each to RM4.50 and RM6.48, respectively, while Press Metal lost 19 sen to RM6.68.
Of the actives, Hibiscus Petroleum shrank 16 sen to RM1.18, Green Packet was half-a-sen better at 10 sen, DNex and Pertama Digital rose three sen to RM1.08 and 85 sen, respectively, while Dataprep increased two sen to 38.5 sen.
On the index board, FBM Emas Index was 91.37 points better at 11,134.54, FBM Emas Shariah Index widened 52.22 points to 11,775.96, FBM 70 ticked up 172.45 points to 12,991.65, FBMT 100 Index perked 98.55 points to 10,838.89, and FBM ACE climbed 52.42 points to 5,246.81.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.50 of-a-point to 208.43 and the Financial Services Index jumped 268.82 points to 16,276.44, while the Plantation Index shed 129.34 points to 8,299.48. — Bernama
