KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 17): Bursa Malaysia opened higher, with the key index rising by 0.34 per cent on bargain-hunting activities.
At 9.05 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) advanced 5.15 points to 1,508.05 from Monday’s close of 1,502.90.
The index opened 2.37 points higher at 1,505.27.
On the broader market, gainers led losers 213 to 137, while 243 counters were unchanged, 1,607 untraded and eight others suspended.
Turnover stood at 213.17 million units worth RM84.40 million.
Rakuten Trade said the FBM KLCI recovered from its low as bargain-hunting activities emerged.
“It is also interesting to note that foreign funds were net buyers despite the uncertainty on the political front. For today, we would expect trading on the local bourse to stabilise and see the index hovering within the 1,500-1,510 range,” it added.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank and CIMB both rose five sen to RM8.11 and RM4.56, respectively, while Public Bank and TNB added one sen each to RM3.94 and RM9.76, respectively. Press Metal increased four sen to RM4.95, Hong Leong Bank jumped 20 sen to RM18.40 and Petronas Chemicals fell one sen to RM7.94.
Of the actives, Tanco and Mobilia bagged 1.5 sen each to 23 sen and 55.5 sen, respectively, TFP Solutions rose one sen to 21.5 sen, and KNM was flat at 22 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index improved 22.03 points to 11,022.44, the FBM ACE gained 36.47 points to 7,125.69, the FBM Emas Shariah Index went up 10.51 points to 12,091.21, the FBMT 100 Index widened 19.18 points to 10,736.84 and the FBM 70 slipped 42.30 points to 14,436.60.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index increased 54.74 points to 14,786.41, the Plantation Index was 20.78 points higher at 6,268.01, and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.36 of-a-point to 188.29.-BERNAMA