KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session higher on continued buying in technology as well as consumer products and services counters; bucking the downtrend seen in regional markets, a dealer said.
At lunch break, the benchmark FBM KLCI rose 12.57 points to 1,587.88 after moving between 1,580.71 and 1,593.08 throughout the session.
The index opened 9.75 points higher at 1,585.06 compared with yesterday’s close of 1,575.31.
On the broader market, gainers thumped losers 525 to 465, while 471 counters were unchanged, 692 untraded and 61 others suspended.
Volume stood at 2.87 billion units worth RM2.28 billion.
Regionally, a dealer said there are growing concerns among investors as the latest data showed that global Covid-19 cases have surpassed 100 million.
“The United Kingdom became the first nation in Europe to record 100,000 deaths.
“Meanwhile, the Biden administration intends to order 100 million more doses each of Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc.’s coronavirus vaccines, and at least temporarily speed up shipments to states,” he said.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank and Petronas Chemicals added 10 sen each to RM7.92 and RM6.85, respectively, Public Bank went up 1.0 sen to RM4.41, TNB increased 14 sen to RM9.84, but Top Glove slipped 1.0 sen to RM6.19.
Of the actives, Iris Corp perked 1.5 sen to 38.5 sen, JAKS improved 2.5 sen to 70 sen, while P.A. Resources and DNeX earned half-a-sen each to 19 sen and 28.5 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index jumped 92.07 points to 11,490.96 and the FBMT 100 Index rose 90.55 points to 11,229.07, while the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 102.72 points higher at 12,935.37.
The FBM 70 climbed 125.71 points to 14,803.11 and the FBM ACE increased 48.12 points to 10,846.72.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index surged 132.78 points to 14,830.23, while the Plantation Index decreased 0.80 of-a-point to 7,183.55, and the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.99 of-a-point to 171.45. – Bernama, January 27, 2021
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