KUALA LUMPUR (April 5): Bursa Malaysia opened higher in cautious trading mode on Tuesday (April 5), taking its cue from the overnight performance of Wall Street on solid gains for tech stocks and the potential for more sanctions against Russia.
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At 9.05am, the benchmark FBM KLCI was 0.65 of a point better at 1,599.57 from Monday’s close at 1,598.92.
The barometer index opened 2.74 points better at 1,601.66.
On the broader market, gainers led losers 258 to 100, while 250 counters were unchanged, 1,629 untraded and 10 others suspended.
Total turnover stood at 153.2 million worth RM76.27 million.
In a note, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the KLCI underperformed regional peers as the key index traded below 1,600 amid profit-taking activities within selected heavyweights on Monday.
“We expect the market to remain volatile over the near term, while investors continue to monitor the potential of Western countries imposing more sanctions against Russia.
“Nevertheless, the downside risk should be cushioned by continuous foreign inflows,” it said.
Meanwhile, the brokerage firm highlighted that the European Union’s acceptance of Malaysia’s Covid-19 vaccination and test certificates may bode well for the aviation sector moving forward.
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Commodity-wise, it noted that both crude oil and crude palm oil (CPO) prices trended higher as global demand remained strong.
“For sectors in focus, given the rebound in CPO futures prices, plantation stocks could be traded actively today (Tuesday). Investors and traders would also focus on the construction, building material and property sectors following the highway deals.
“Besides, selected technology stocks may trade positively in tandem with the Nasdaq movements overnight,” it added.
Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) added two sen to RM8.98, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PetChem) and IHH Healhcare Bhd gained one sen each to RM9.71 and RM6.29 respectively, while Public Bank Bhd and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd eased one sen each to RM4.69 and RM5.29 respectively.
Of the actives, BCM Alliance Bhd and Techna-X edged up half a sen each to four sen and 8.5 sen respectively, Pappajack Bhd increased 1.5 sen to 47.5 sen, while Sapura Energy Bhd and Top Builders Capital Bhd were flat at four sen and two sen respectively.
On the index board, the FBMT 100 Index gained 17.62 points to 11,161.83, the FBM Emas Index added 20.27 points to 11,500.43 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 46.80 points to 12,126.33.
FBM 70 rose 75.24 points to 14,016.34 and FBM ACE bagged 7.66 points to 5,778.72.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 1.05 points to 208.46, whereas the Plantation Index perked 38.28 points to 8,118.60, while the Financial Services Index slipped 26.96 points to 16,795.11.-BERNAMA