KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 9): Bursa Malaysia settled higher at the noon break on Monday (Jan 9), taking its cue from global stock markets and positive sentiments sparked by China’s border reopening, said a dealer.
Gains in transportation and logistics as well as technology stocks continued to support the FBM KLCI, contributing 5.02 points.
At lunch break, the benchmark index had risen by 7.20 points to 1,487.75, from last Friday’s close at 1,480.55.
The market bellwether, which opened 4.01 points stronger at 1,484.56, moved between 1,483.93 and 1,489.59 throughout the morning session.
Market breadth was positive, with gainers outpacing decliners 490 versus 332, while 358 counters were unchanged, 1,030 untraded, and 19 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 1.74 billion units worth RM876.22 million.
With China’s border reopening in the limelight, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said investors may focus on the tourism and leisure-related sectors as well as the consumer sector with higher consumption activities amid the return of tourists.
“The technology sector may track the significant jump on the Nasdaq,” it said in a note on Monday.
The brokerage firm also said the jump on Wall Street last Friday, coupled with the reopening of China’s borders, could spark a rally in regional markets as well as the local bourse.
“We believe the market is more positive-biased on the inflationary pressure, as the US’ December 2022 payrolls came in greater than expected, but the slowdown in wage growth could indicate that the US Federal Reserve’s battle against inflation may have an impact,” it said.
Among Bursa heavyweights, MISC Bhd rose 10 sen to RM7.31, Inari Amertron Bhd gained five sen to RM2.78, Dialog Group Bhd added 11 sen to RM2.53, IOI Corp Bhd bagged seven sen to RM3.98, and Hong Leong Bank Bhd increased 18 sen to RM20.62.
As for the actives, CSH Alliance Bhd firmed one sen to 5.5 sen, Cypark Resources Bhd went up three sen to 68 sen, Nylex (Malaysia) Bhd grew 5.5 sen to 43 sen, Citaglobal Bhd edged up two sen to 36.5 sen, and L&P Global Bhd climbed three sen to 54 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased 63.33 points to 10,695.66, the FBMT 100 Index widened 60.90 points to 10,403.32, the FBM Emas Shariah Index ticked up 73.99 points to 10,909.86, the FBM 70 Index rose 122.60 points to 13,157.31, and the FBM ACE Index improved 41.65 points to 5,419.55.
Sector-wise, the Transportation and Logistics Index climbed 27.90 points to 950.07, and the Technology Index garnered 1.26 points to 64.43.
Meanwhile, the Financial Services Index grew 72.33 points to 16,487.81, the Plantation Index strengthened 55.05 points to 6,945.22, the Industrial Products and Services Index ticked up 0.33 of a point to 182.00, and the Energy Index rose 9.70 points to 787.29.-BERNAMA