KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 17): Bursa Malaysia extended Tuesday’s gains to open higher on Wednesday (Aug 17), driven by continued buying interest in selected heavyweights, amid cautious sentiment in regional markets, dealers said.
At 9.18am, the benchmark FBM KLCI had risen 4.09 points to 1,522.87, from 1,518.78 at Tuesday’s close.
The benchmark index opened 0.77 of a point higher at 1,519.55.
On the broader market, gainers led decliners 193 to 167, while 257 counters were unchanged, 1,662 untraded, and six others suspended.
Turnover stood at 324.99 million units worth RM163.13 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the KLCI on Tuesday staged a strong breakout, mainly fuelled by buying interest in the telecommunications heavyweights, coupled with the healthy inflow of foreign funds, with the five-day net foreign buying standing at RM719.8 million.
“While global markets may keep an eye on UK inflation to gauge global recession risk, we believe the local bourse should remain positive in the upcoming earnings season, after international borders were uplifted in April.
“Commodity-wise, both crude oil and crude palm oil (CPO) [prices] trended lower, with crude oil trading around US$92 (RM410.87) per barrel, and CPO hovering slightly above RM4,100 per tonne,” it said in a note on Tuesday.
Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) added one sen to RM8.98, Public Bank Bhd advanced two sen to RM4.67, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd gained nine sen to RM8.84, IHH Healthcare Bhd was flat and RM6.49, and CIMB Group Holdings was also flat at RM5.45.
Of the actives, Hartalega Holdings Bhd slipped 11 sen to RM1.66, Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd eased half a sen to nine sen, TWL Holdings Bhd was flat at six sen, and Borneo Oil Bhd was also flat at 2.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index improved 19.95 points to 10,769.48, the FBMT 100 Index perked up 19.41 points to 10,517.57, the FBM Emas Shariah Index went up 22.65 points to 10,924.56, and the FBM 70 fell 12.09 points to 12,768.74, while the FBM ACE increased 1.16 points to 4,969.44.
The Financial Services Index rose 21.02 points to 16,832.36, the Plantation Index bagged 29.28 points to 7,288, the Energy Index slipped 3.35 points to 654.16, and the Industrial Products and Services Index earned 0.84 of a point to 184.72.-BERNAMA