KUALA LUMPUR, May 18 — Bursa Malaysia extended yesterday's gains to open higher on the back of return of buying interest in selected commodity and oil and gas (O&G)-related heavyweights.
At 9.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 5.18 points to 1,553.78 from Tuesday's close of 1,548.60.
The benchmark index opened 5.55 points higher at 1,554.15.
On the broader market, gainers surpassed decliners 213 to 109, while 231 counters were unchanged, 1,702 untraded and 11 others suspended.
Total turnover stood at 344.01 million units worth RM95.18 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd, in a note today, said it expects the broad-based recovery on the local bourse to extend in tandem with the rebound on Wall Street overnight following the release of US retail sales data in April and optimism on China’s easing of lockdowns.
"On the commodity markets, crude oil has taken some pullback, but hovering above US$110 per barrel.
"Meanwhile, crude palm oil (CPO) is priced around RM6,150 per tonne. Do note that Indonesian farmers protested against export sales ban on palm oil, which may potentially cause an impact on the CPO price," it said.
The research firm said further buying interest is also expected in the technology sector following Nasdaq’s strong rally overnight.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank and Public Bank added one sen each to RM8.96 and RM4.54, respectively, Petronas Chemicals improved 10 sen to RM10.12, IHH Healthcare rose seven sen to RM6.50, and CIMB gained two sen to RM5.08.
Of the top gainers, Malaysian Pacific Industries and KL Kepong advanced 46 sen each to RM32/16 and RM27.16, respectively, Petron Malaysia widened 23 sen to RM6.94, Batu Kawan bagged 18 sen to RM27.50, and Gas Malaysia rose 15 sen to RM3.14.
On the index board, FBM ACE increased 12.91 points to 5,376.15, FBM Emas Index advanced 40.73 points to 11,101.14, FBMT 100 Index firmed 39.31 points to 10,764.39, FBM Emas Shariah Index widened 49.75 points to 11,599.02, and FBM 70 added 62.06 points to 13,200.91.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index increased 39.55 points to 16,574.04, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.56 of-a-point higher at 200.98, and the Plantation Index climbed 34.62 points to 8,294.81. — Bernama
