Bursa Malaysia higher at opening backed by bargain hunting

Malaysian Reserve

3 days ago

BURSA Malaysia opened higher on Monday, supported by bargain hunting as the market was mostly lower last week, driven by cautious United States (US)-China trade sentiment and a lack of positive economic figures from both countries.
At 9.05 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) earned 2.58 points to 1,519.37 from Friday's close of 1,516.79. The benchmark index opened at 1,518.06, higher by 1.27 points.
Market breadth was positive, with gainers outpacing losers 175 to 76. A total of 236 counters were unchanged, 1,873 untraded and 20 suspended.
Turnover stood at 93.49 million units, valued at RM63.13 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said trading activities remained muted last week as seen from the weak daily volume, which dwindled to below the two billion shares mark.
'This could be attributed to the widespread downgrades of the benchmark index target for 2025 by the research fraternity recently,' he said in a research note today.
Thong also said that the broker firm expects the index to hover within the 1,510-1,520 level today.
Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd said last week's local market performance was in tandem with the mixed regional markets and persistent foreign net outflows, which saw KLCI losing 1.3 points to 1,516.8, after rising 14.8 points in two days.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank added one sen to RM9.71, Tenaga Nasional rose four sen to RM14.24, Public Bank and CIMB were both flat at RM4.26 and RM6.84, respectively, while QL Resources was seven sen better at RM4.44, and Sunway earned four sen to RM4.84.
Among the most active stocks, Hartanah Kenyalang improved half-a-sen to 16.5 sen, MPire accumulated two sen to 11 sen, ATA IMS was one sen higher at 31.5 sen, and Yinson jumped eight sen to RM2.42.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index added 31.70 points to 11,387.04, the FBMT 100 Index appreciated 30.60 points to 11,154.30, the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 37.28 points to 11,366.50, while the FBM 70 Index soared 91.37 points to 16,387.95.
However, the FBM ACE Index erased 6.06 points to 4,513.26.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index ticked up 20.74 points to 17,729.05, the Energy Index increased 6.85 points to 725.30, but the Industrial Products and Services Index was down 0.50 of a point to 151.30, and the Plantation Index shed 0.53 of a point to 7,252.32. — BERNAMA