KUALA LUMPUR (July 27): Bursa Malaysia opened higher today, tracking modest gains of regional peers, a dealer said.
-Advertisement-
At 9.05am, the benchmark FBM KLCI was 3.98 points better at 1,516.51 from yesterday’s close at 1,512.53.
The index opened 3.2 points higher at 1,515.73.
On the broader market, gainers led losers at 211 versus 151, while 238 counters were unchanged, 1,626 untraded and 30 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 273.93 million units worth RM108.76 million.
In a research note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the KLCI and the broader market slumped yesterday, in line with negative performances of Chinese and Hong Kong markets amid concerns over tightening regulations on selected sectors.
“However, we expected bargain-hunting activities to emerge on the local bourse after the selldown as market players might have priced in news from China or Hong Kong.
“Meanwhile, investors should focus on vaccination rates instead of the ongoing high number of daily Covid-19 cases as the government will be looking to the resumption of business activities going forward,” it noted.
Commodity-wise, the brokerage firm said both crude palm oil (CPO) and crude oil had extended their gains.
-Advertisement-
In terms of sectors, the market is expected to see buying interest emerging in plantation and oil and gas (O&G) stocks amid rising prices after the heavy selldown yesterday, while technology stocks could also witness higher buying interest after experiencing some selldown yesterday, it added.
Of the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) added one sen to RM8.01, Public Bank Bhd rose three sen to RM4.03, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) gained two sen to RM9.72 and IHH Healthcare Bhd advanced five sen to RM5.82.
Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PetChem) was flat at RM7.99.
Among the actives, BCM Alliance Bhd’s warrant fell 11.5 sen to half a sen, while BCM Alliance Bhd eased half a sen to 15 sen.
Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd and its warrant bagged one sen each to 43 sen and 10 sen respectively, while PUC Bhd edged up half a sen to 18 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased 31.19 points to 11,125.50, the FBM ACE advanced 33.90 points to 7,357.40 and the FBM 70 perked 29.92 points to 14,637.86.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index was 22.47 points better at 12,239.33 and the FBMT 100 Index went up 26.74 points to 10,820.01.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index rose 63.72 points to 14,816.96 and the Plantation Index increased 40.64 points to 6,229.92, while the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.15 of a point to 189.16. – BERNAMA