KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia opened slightly lower today but rebounded thereafter, supported by renewed buying interest in selected heavyweights, dealers said.
At 9.27am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 0.76 of-a-point to 1,563.96 from 1,563.20 at yesterday’s close.
The index opened 1.24 points lower at 1,561.96.
On the broader market, gainers surpassed losers 242 to 206, while 288 counters were unchanged, 1,531 untraded and 40 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 435.01 million units worth RM156.17 million.
Following the recent continuous buying from foreign funds in the local exchange, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd expects the market sentiment to remain sturdy and opines that the FBM KLCI should revisit the 1,600-level in the near term.
“The energy counters may shine as the crude oil price continues its uptrend. Besides, investors are likely to put banking, metal-related and consumer-related stocks on their radar on the back of economic recovery and easing concerns over the Omicron Covid-19 variant,” it said in a research note today.
It said the Wall Street rebounded as the United States’ inflation rate came in within expectation at 7% year-on-year, which may also provide further support towards the local benchmark index.
“On the commodities market, the crude oil price is hovering above the US$84 (RM350.87) per barrel mark as investors anticipate strengthening demand amid the economic recovery mode, while crude palm oil price is hovering above RM5,000,” it added.
Of the heavyweights, Maybank was flat at RM8.41, Public Bank and CIMB fell 2 sen each to RM4.23 and RM5.54, respectively, IHH Healthcare slipped 1 sen to RM6.64, while Petronas Chemicals rose 6 sen to RM9.06.
Of the actives, Kanger International, Key Alliance and MQ Technology were flat at 2.5 sen, 1.5 sen and 8.5 sen, respectively, while AHB Holdings added 1.5 sen to 29.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 2.78 points higher at 11,304.84, the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 20.36 points to 12,097.70, the FBM 70 climbed 2.80 points to 14,228.05, the FBMT 100 Index advanced 4.62 points to 10,999.02, and the FBM ACE eased 0.07 of-a-point to 6,582.57.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 0.87 of-a-point to 206.19 and the Financial Services Index declined 33.05 points to 16,061.86, while the Plantation Index improved 39.62 points to 6,779.54. – Bernama, January 13, 2022
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