KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 ― Bursa Malaysia maintained its upward momentum at midday, in line with the improved performance in regional markets that took their cue from the United States stocks which rallied for the second consecutive day.
At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose by 14.38 points to 1,423.74 from yesterday's close of 1,409.36.
The benchmark index opened 4.31 points better at 1,413.67.
On the broader market, gainers led losers 487 to 264, while 368 counters were unchanged, 1,211 untraded and six others suspended.
Turnover stood at 2.12 billion units worth RM819.10 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of Equity Research, Thong Pak Leng said buying activities are expected to continue on the local bourse today as sentiments are expected to remain positive.
“As such, we expect the index to hover in the 1,405-1,420 range today, with buying interests in the banking, telecommunication and technology-related stocks,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, oil benchmark Brent crude has surged to almost US$92 (RM426.70) per barrel on reports that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries may cut production by an even bigger margin than the initial forecast.
At noon, Bursa heavyweights Maybank gained three sen to RM8.71, Public Bank added two sen to RM4.29, Petronas Chemicals was 21 sen higher at RM8.60, CIMB earned six sen to RM5.29 and IHH Healthcare edged up one sen to RM5.86.
Of the actives, MMAG Holdings rose by half-a-sen to four sen, Hibiscus Petroleum climbed 9.5 sen to 96.5 sen, Top Glove pushed up one sen to 63 sen and Cypark Resources went up 1.5 sen to 47.5 sen, while Hiap Huat Holdings fell by one sen to 15 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index widened 94.76 points to 10,145.67, the FBM 70 advanced 98.67 points to 12,279.38, the FBMT 100 Index was 95.09 points stronger at 9,897.92, the FBM Emas Shariah Index jumped 115.67 points to 10,185.21, and the FBM ACE climbed 16.65 points to 4,725.65.
Sector-wise, the Energy Index was 16.12 points firmer at 700.64, the Financial Services Index expanded by 94.15 points to 16,185.58, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 4.04 points to 173.90 and the Plantation Index soared 136.37 points to 6,574.43. ― Bernama
