KUALA LUMPUR – Equities on Bursa Malaysia remained higher at mid-morning today, echoing Wall Street’s new record performance overnight after Joe Biden was sworn in to become the 46th United States president, instilling optimism among traders.
At 10.30am today, there were 294 gainers, 633 losers and 418 counters traded unchanged on the Bursa Malaysia.
The FBM-KLCI was at 1,603.92 up 2.38 points, the FBMACE was at 10,812.60 down 37.78 points, and the FBMEmas was at 11,578.32, down 16.34 points.
Turnover was at 2.388 billion shares valued at RM1.389 billion.
In a note, Public Investment Bank said the US stocks closed higher yesterday, propelled by optimism that the Biden administration’s US$1.9 trillion (RM7.69 trillion) stimulus plan could help insulate the global economy from the damage wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The S&P 500 index gained 1.39%, the Dow Jones rose 0.83%, and Nasdaq improved 1.97%.
However, in another note, Malacca Securities said market volatility remains in place amidst the expansion of the movement control order to include all states, except for Sarawak, due to the worsening Covid-19 situation in Malaysia.
“In the banking sector, we expect trading interest will be seen after Bank Negara Malaysia’s move to keep the interest rate unchanged until the next meeting,” it said in a note today.
Meanwhile, the research firm said the vaccine rollout plan that could come in the first quarter of 2021 may benefit the distribution segment.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank rose 3 sen to RM8.12, Public Bank added 28 sen to RM21.60, PChem was up 1 sen to RM7.55, Tenaga increased 4 sen to RM10.00 and Top Glove improved 8 sen to RM6.22.
Of the actives, Fintec Global, KTG, Dagang Nexchange, and K-Star Sports rose half-a-sen each to 8 sen, 25.5 sen, 23 sen and 32.5 sen, respectively, while HPP rose 6 sen to 77 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index shed 16.30 points to 11,578.30, the FBMT 100 Index expanded 72.14 points to 11,394.01, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 21.50 points lower at 13,059.80.
The FBM 70 rose 75.09 points to 14,985.66 and the FBM ACE decreased 37.70 points to 10,812.60.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index dropped 0.55 of-a-point to 14,875.80, the Industrial Products and Services Index rose 1.51 points to 178.25, while the Plantation Index gained 4.15 points to 7,246.94. – Bernama, January 21, 2021
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