KUALA LUMPUR, April 14 — Bursa Malaysia pared yesterday’s losses to open higher on Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street.
At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 10.52 points, or 0.63 per cent, to 1,691.04, from Monday’s close of 1,680.52.
The benchmark index opened 10.44 points higher at 1,690.96.
Market breadth was positive, with 278 gainers outpacing 124 decliners. A total of 248 counters were unchanged, 2,066 untraded, and 12 suspended.
Turnover stood at 262.22 million shares worth RM123.66 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street closed broadly higher overnight, as traders hope a deal will eventually be struck after the US initiated a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
“Over in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index declined as traders decided to pare down their holdings amid the surging crude oil prices following President Donald Trump’s decision to block the Strait of Hormuz after the ceasefire negotiation with Iran collapsed.
“Though the domestic stocks are ripe for accumulation at this level, we believe investors still prefer to be side-liners, thus expect the FBM KLCI to hover within the 1,675-1,690 range today,” he told Bernama.
Among heavyweights, Maybank and Tenaga Nasional both edged up 10 sen to RM11.08 and RM14.28, respectively. Public Bank added five sen to RM4.65, CIMB rose eight sen to RM7.47, and IHH Healthcare inched up three sen to RM8.74.
On the most active list, Velesto Energy and Bumi Armada slipped one sen each to 33.5 sen and 39 sen, respectively. MMAG and Handal Energy were flat at four sen and 3.5 sen, respectively, while Smtrack eased half-a-sen to half-a-sen.
Among top gainers, Malaysian Pacific Industries strengthened 54 sen to RM30.44, Fraser and Neave gained 50 sen to RM29.68, Nestle rose 38 sen to RM99.38, United Plantations grew 20 sen to RM33.20, and Hong Leong Bank was 18 sen higher each at RM21.88.
Top losers included Dutch Lady Milk, which fell 20 sen to RM31.80, Hextar Technologies and Petronas Chemicals, both trimmed six sen to RM1.12 and RM5.96, respectively. MISC slid five sen to RM8.39, and PPB lost four sen to RM11.92.
On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index increased by 72.41 points to 12,251.48, the FBM Emas Index added 70.86 points to 12,404.13, the FBM Mid 70 Index went up 85.70 points to 17,282.55, the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 48.50 points to 12,315.56, and the FBM ACE Index was 28.78 points higher to 4,439.69.
By sector, the Financial Services Index surged by 181.67 points to 19,680.56, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.05 of a point to 187.23, the Plantation Index garnered 4.74 points to 8,973.63, while the Energy Index shed 3.84 points to 827.86. — Bernama
