KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 1 — Bursa Malaysia turned higher at mid-morning today on mild bargain-hunting in selected heavyweights.
At 11.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 4.29 points to 1,496.52 from Friday’s close of 1,492.23.
The benchmark index opened 0.44 of-a-point firmer at 1,492.67.
On the broader market, gainers surpassed decliners 391 to 306, while 336 counters were unchanged, 1,209 untraded and 18 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.07 billion units worth RM429.03 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd believes the market undertone will improve as investors see a slower pace of interest rate hikes in the United States moving forward.
“Nevertheless, inflation is likely to remain high as the crude oil price is still elevated at above the US$103 per barrel mark on the back of the tight supply situation. Attention may turn to the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (Opec+) meeting on Aug 3, 2022,” the firm said in a note today.
Meanwhile, the crude palm oil price surged more than 8.0 per cent, trading above RM4,200 per tonne.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank fell one sen to RM8.85, Public Bank decreased two sen to RM4.62, Petronas rose two sen to RM8.90, IHH Healthcare added 15 sen to RM6.54 and CIMB gained four sen to RM5.25.
Of the actives, CSH Alliance was flat at 7.0 sen, both Metronic and Ta Win increased half-a-sen each to 14.5 sen and 9.0 sen, respectively, Sedania and Dagang Nexchange added 1.5 sen each to 45 sen and 82 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index advanced 36.80 points to 10,638.70, the FBM Emas Shariah Index earned 62.71 points to 10,797.48, the FBMT 100 Index climbed 32.53 points to 10,385.41, the FBM ACE grew 53.83 points to 4,901.83, and the FBM 70 surged 50.96 points to 12,809.40.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index strengthened 84.27 points to 7,082.61, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 1.03 points to 185.40, the Energy Index expanded 5.86 points to 677.10, and the Financial Services Index went up 3.85 points to 16,649.25. — Bernama
