KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 — Bursa Malaysia opened higher on Wednesday, in line with Wall Street’s gains overnight, despite volatility in crude oil prices, which remained above the US$100 mark.
At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 12.24 points, or 0.72 per cent, to 1,723.23 from yesterday’s close of 1,710.99.
The benchmark index opened 2.98 points higher at 1,713.97.
Market breadth was positive with 177 gainers outpacing 124 losers. A total of 222 counters were unchanged, 2,211 untraded and 11 suspended.
Turnover stood at 209.55 million shares valued at RM271.88 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng said United States (US) President Donald Trump’s plea for North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s (NATO) assistance fell on deaf ears as the war may not end anytime soon.
“Meanwhile, the US 10-year yield fell to 4.20 per cent. As for Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index was up marginally but off the day’s high, whilst market undertone remains jittery amidst the steadying crude oil price,” he told Bernama.
However, at the time of writing, Brent crude eased 0.84 per cent to US$102.50 per barrel.
On the home front, Thong said the FBM KLCI closed above the 1,710 level yesterday, underpinned by the return of foreign funds.
“Many still perceive Malaysia as a better insulated country within the region to withstand the prevailing high crude oil price. Thus, we anticipate the index to trend in the 1,700-1,720 range today,” he added.
Among heavyweights, Maybank rose 8.0 sen to RM11.68, Public Bank added 4.0 sen to RM4.90, CIMB gained 9.0 sen to RM7.95, Tenaga Nasional edged up 10 sen to RM14.30, and IHH Healthcare advanced 12 sen to RM9.05.
On the most active list, Main Market debutant Sunway Healthcare increased 34 sen to RM1.79, Kinergy Advancement inched up half-a-sen to 39.5 sen, Bumi Armada and Perak Transit eased half-a-sen each to 32.5 sen and 24 sen, while Pharmaniaga was flat at 27.5 sen.
Among the top gainers, Nestle rose 80 sen to RM101.70, Petronas Gas gained 24 sen to RM17.84, Kuala Lumpur Kepong was 18 sen higher at RM19.78, and both Malayan Cement and Hong Leong Bank added 14 sen to RM6.92 and RM22.94, respectively.
As for the top losers, United Plantations slid 26 sen to RM33.74, PPB Group fell 12 sen to RM11.28, Concrete Engineering Products slipped 11 sen to RM1.55, Apollo Food shed 10 sen to RM5.62 and Hextar Technologies Solutions sank 9.0 sen to RM1.10.
On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index gained 76.20 points to 12,405.38, the FBM Emas Index rose 70.97 points to 12,556.93, the FBM ACE Index advanced 13.44 points to 4,427.36, the FBM 70 Index added 51.32 points to 17,158.93, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index improved 55.29 points to 12,124.65.
By sector, the Financial Services Index jumped 149.19 points to 20,786.73, the Plantation Index rose 41.67 points to 8,610.15 and the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.12 of-a-point to 178.57, while the Energy Index fell 7.25 points to 782.72. — Bernama
