Bursa opens higher as Wall Street rally, US earnings lift sentiment
At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 4.03 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 1,537.79 from Friday's close of 1,533.76.
The benchmark index had opened 4.29 points firmer at 1,538.05.
Market breadth was positive, with gainers outpacing losers 224 to 133. A total of 293 counters were unchanged, 1,904 untraded, and 43 suspended.
Turnover stood at 182.48 million shares worth RM110.09 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street closed broadly higher, supported by strong United States (US) corporate earnings and positive trade signals, as President Donald Trump indicated more deals could be finalised before the Aug 1 deadline.
Regionally, he noted that Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slipped on profit-taking after a five-day rally.
'Back home, we believe the market is taking a breather and is poised to resume its climb. As such, we expect the index to hover within the 1,530–1,540 range today,' he told Bernama.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank rose four sen to RM9.58, Public Bank added one sen to RM4.30, CIMB and IHH Healthcare gained two sen each to RM6.77 and RM6.68 respectively, while Tenaga Nasional slipped four sen to RM13.56.
On the actively traded list, YTL Corporation advanced eight sen to RM2.56, Sapura Energy edged up half-a-sen to four sen, Ekovest improved one sen to 41 sen, while NexG and TWL Holdings were flat at 52.5 sen and 2.5 sen respectively.
On the broader index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 30.82 points to 11,537.64, the FBMT 100 Index gained 29.54 points to 11,299.26, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 21.54 points to 11,550.49.
The FBM 70 Index was 43.30 points higher at 16,650.87, while the FBM ACE Index inched up 4.64 points to 4,643.66.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index climbed 44.89 points to 17,499.12, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 0.28 of a point to 157.42, and the Energy Index rose 0.13 of a point to 739.98. The Plantation Index, however, slipped 4.36 points to 7,430.43. — Bernama
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