KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 14): Bursa Malaysia opened slightly higher on Wednesday (Dec 14), mirroring gains on Wall Street overnight, driven by the encouraging US inflation data amid lingering cautious sentiments, an analyst said.
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At 9.10am, the benchmark FBM KLCI had risen 2.58 points to 1,472.70, from Tuesday’s closing at 1,470.12.
The market bellwether opened 1.77 points higher at 1,471.89.
On the broader market, gainers surpassed decliners 220 to 107, while 216 counters were unchanged, 1,730 untraded and 13 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 168.04 million units worth RM79.43 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street ended in positive territory, as the US consumer price index came in lower than forecast, hence many expect the US Federal Reserve to be less aggressive in hiking rates.
On the home front, he said the local bourse is expected to trade within a tight range, in tandem with regional markets.
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“We reckon the KLCI will trend within the 1,470-1,485 range.
“We anticipate buying to focus on oil and gas counters following the rebound in crude oil prices, spurred by easing of Covid-19 restrictions in China,” he told Bernama.
Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) was unchanged at RM8.75 a share, Public Bank Bhd rose two sen to RM4.37, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd added one sen to RM5.77, and Tenaga Nasional (TNB) gained six sen to RM9.27, while Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd eased one sen to RM8.47.
Of the actives, SNS Network technology Bhd added two sen to 27 sen, Borneo Oil Bhd at 2.5 sen and Dataprep Holdings Bhd at 25.5 sen were unchanged, Advance Synergy Bhd ticked up half a sen to 17.5 sen, and YX Precious Metals Bhd rose 1.5 sen to 23 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index advanced 15.22 points to 10,594.76, the FBMT 100 Index ticked up 14.35 points to 10,296.95, the FBM Emas Shariah Index strengthened 34.90 points to 10,742.71, and the FBM 70 edged up 3.32 points to 13,009.32, while the FBM ACE eased 0.25 of a point to 5,494.65.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index was 16.98 points lower at 16,555.15, while the Plantation Index earned 29.86 points to 6,715.80, the Industrial Products and Services Index increased by 0.38 of a point to 180.99, and the Energy Index climbed 5.35 points to 790.07.-BERNAMA