KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 2): Bursa Malaysia rebounded from yesterday’s losses to open higher today, boosted by renewed buying interest in selected heavyweights as investors took advantage of the lower prices, dealers said.
At 9.15 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 5.58 points to 1,600.49 from Wednesday’s close of 1,586.89
It opened 1.42 points better at 1,588.31.
Market breadth was positive with gainers leading losers 269 to 219, while 304 counters were unchanged, 1,426 untraded and six others suspended.
Turnover stood at 501.35 million units worth RM245.16 million.
In a note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said it expects the local stocks to continue to eke out gains after taking a breather, as investors’ confidence could be boosted by the Finance Ministry’s pre-budget statement.
It also noted that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) is expected to stick to the existing gradual output hike despite having revised the 2022 demand outlook higher, which may boost the oil price in the long run.
“Investors may continue targeting the recovery theme sectors today such as building material, banking and consumers following the pullback yesterday.
“The technology stocks may track the Nasdaq’s overnight gains, and solar-related stocks may see higher trading interest as solar photovoltaic (PV) contracts are being awarded to several companies,” it said.
Among the market heavyweights, Maybank and Public Bank slipped 1.0 sen each to RM8.29 and RM4.07, respectively, while Petronas Chemicals added 2.0 sen to RM8.31, Tenaga Nasional gained 10 sen to RM10.44 and IHH Healthcare improved 9.0 sen to RM6.42.
Of the actives, Ho Wah Genting went up 7.0 sen to 37 sen, TFP Solution advanced 1.0 sen to 23 sen, but TA Win and Sapura Energy eased half-a-sen each to 16.5 sen and 12.5 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index bagged 28.76 points to 11,590.10, the FBMT 100 Index was 32.44 points higher at 11,297.48, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index perked 52.43 points to 12,751.52.
The FBM 70 increased 15.23 points to 15,023.68 and the FBM ACE rose 2.46 points to 7,218.48.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index went up 18.30 points to 6,775.89 and the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.01 of-a-point to 199.58, while the Financial Services Index declined 6.28 points to 15,390.26.-BERNAMA