KUALA LUMPUR (July 29): Bursa Malaysia rose after opening today as investors digested the spillover of the overnight US market which was mixed with the Nasdaq rallying while the Dow fell amid a slew of corporate earnings.
US stocks and government bond prices rallied yesterday after the US Federal Reserve (Fed) acknowledged improvements in the US economy in its latest meeting while opting to keep its current policy stance unchanged, a dealer said.
At 9.05am, the benchmark FBM KLCI was 2.37 points better at 1,517.76 from yesterday’s close at 1,515.39.
The index opened 0.42 of a point easier at 1,514.97.
On the broader market, gainers led losers 210 versus 141, while 236 counters were unchanged, 1,634 untraded and 80 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 245.91 million units worth RM104.03 million.
In a research note, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the FBM KLCI closed mildly positive yesterday following late bargain-hunting activities, but gains were capped amid unrelenting COVID-19 cases, as well as recent political developments.
“Despite daily COVID-19 infections continue to be on the rise amid ramped up testing in the Klang Valley, we expect the vaccination rate should brush off negative sentiment and traders may look for recovery opportunities.
“Also, both the Hang Seng Futures and overnight Wall Street could be due for a technical rebound and may spillover towards stocks on the local front, especially on the technology sector,” it said.
Commodity wise, crude palm oil (CPO) price was down as demand was seen slowing down from India and China, while crude oil extended its gains, the brokerage firm noted.
“For sector in focus, taking cues from the overnight positive performance on Nasdaq, investors may focus on the technology sector. Besides, some bashed-down stocks in the recovery-theme sector such as essential consumers may also gain traction,” it added.
Of the heavyweights, Maybank gained two sen to RM8.06, Public Bank improved one sen at RM4.02, while Petronas Chemicals eased two sen to RM7.97, and TNB and IHH Healthcare were flat at RM9.78 and RM5.80, respectively.
Among the actives, Kanger added one sen to seven sen, Tanco bagged 1.5 sen to 18 sen, Hwa Tai rose nine sen to RM1.16, and Sasbadi and MAG edged up half-a-sen each to 22 sen and 19.5 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased 22.87 points to 11,115.09, the FBMT 100 Index went up 21.16 points to 10,820.22 and the FBM 70 advanced 45.05 points to 14,604.02.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index was 15.29 points higher at 12,212.88 but the FBM ACE eased 0.25 of-a-point to 7,239.93.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index rose 66.31 points to 14,861.65, the Plantation Index added 9.60 points to 6,179.62, while the Industrial Products and Services Index slid 0.09 of-a-point to 187.93.-BERNAMA