KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 7): Bursa Malaysia opened slightly higher today in line with regional peers which extended yesterday’s rally as investors viewed the latest weak US jobs report positively.
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The data stoked the view that the Federal Reserve would delay paring its stimulus measures and this had helped markets, dealers said.
At 9.06 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) improved 1.87 points to 1,583.46 from Monday’s close of 1,581.59
It opened 0.16 of-a-point better at 1,581.75.
Market breadth was positive with gainers leading losers 260 to 129, while 326 counters were unchanged, 1,512 untraded and 25 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 278.93 million units worth RM109.51 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the ongoing discussion on standard operating procedures’ relaxation in preparation for the COVID-19 endemic phase, coupled with the declining daily infections, may continue to drive the recovery theme play across the board.
Commodities-wise, crude palm oil (CPO) price climbed while aluminium price also increased on the back of concerns over raw material supply amid a coup in Guinea, the major supplier of bauxite.
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“With COVID-19 daily infections dropping to its lowest in 28 days, we believe focus would remain in the recovery-themed stocks such as banking, consumers, construction and property.
“Besides, building materials counters may gain traction following the higher aluminium price. Meanwhile, plantation counters may also be attractive amid a higher CPO price,” it added.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank added one sen to RM8.34, Petronas Chemicals gained three sen to RM8.13 and Tenaga Nasional shed four sen to RM10.30, while Public Bank and IHH Healthcare were flat at RM4.09 and RM6.35, respectively.
Of the actives, KNM increased 1.5 sen to 30.5 sen, GIIB Holdings rose 4.5 sen to five sen and TFP Solutions improved one sen to 24 sen, while Hubline and Lambo were flat at four sen and 14 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index bagged 13.60 points to 11,594.45, the FBMT 100 Index was 13.90 points higher at 11,286.38, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index perked 18.60 points to 12,693.55.
The FBM 70 lifted 20.83 points to 15,224.58 while the FBM ACE advanced 42.30 points to 7,317.88.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index improved 7.29 points to 6,633.0, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.80 of-a-point to 200.91 and the Financial Services Index gained 12.24 points to 15,488.46.-BERNAMA