KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 — Bursa Malaysia opened on a positive note today, taking its cue from the broad-based rebound on Wall Street last Friday, a dealer said.
At 9.06am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased by 5.22 points to 1,501.75 from Friday's close of 1,496.53.
The benchmark index opened 1.13 points firmer at 1,497.66.
On the broader market, gainers surpassed losers 217 to 88, while 209 counters were unchanged, 1,801 untraded and nine others suspended.
Turnover stood at 139.91 million units worth RM74.03 million.
In a research note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said investors could be taking a view that the United States (US) consumer price index (CPI) reading is likely to decline and the US Federal Reserve may be looking at a smaller hike going forward.
“Hence, the focus this week will be on the US and Eurozone’s inflation rate.
“As for commodities, the crude oil price jumped to above US$92 per barrel, while the crude palm oil hovered above RM3,550,” it said.
As such, buying interest might emerge in the energy counters following the rebound in crude oil price, it said, while building material, telecommunication, and medical-related counters may also be on the way up ahead of Budget 2023 to be tabled next month.
The brokerage firm said the technology sector could be in the spotlight, tracking the overnight gains in the Nasdaq Composite Index.
In the meantime, Bursa heavyweights Maybank added six sen to RM9.03, Public Bank improved two sen to RM4.71, Petronas Chemicals and IHH Healthcare gained three sen each to RM8.97 and RM6.20, respectively, and CIMB was five sen higher at RM5.49. Of the actives, Harvest Miracle Capital increased by one sen to 16 sen, Cnergenz was up four sen to RM1.06 and Agmo Holdings gained 3.5 sen to RM1.00, while Mlabs Systems and Metronic Global were flat at 1.5 sen and 3.5 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 36.27 points better at 10,664.49, the FBMT 100 Index rose 35.52 points to 10,410.97, the FBM Emas Shariah Index strengthened 31.68 points to 10,725.16, the FBM 70 expanded 41.17 points to 12,797.99 and the FBM ACE was 16.82 points stronger at 4,875.30.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index gained 0.29 of-a-point to 185.89, the Energy Index rose 5.57 points to 712.73 and the Financial Services Index ticked up 93.80 points to 16,910.98, while the Plantation Index was 9.98 points weaker at 6,983.99. — Bernama
