KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia extended its gains from yesterday to open on a positive note, supported by continuing buying interest, in line with the positive sentiments in the regional markets, a dealer said.
At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 5.02 points to 1,442.0 from yesterday’s close of 1,436.98.
The benchmark index opened 4.18 points higher at 1,441.60.
On the broader market, gainers led losers 181 to 82, while 208 counters were unchanged, 1,817 untraded and eight others suspended.
Turnover stood at 247.02 million units worth RM54.08 million.
In a research note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said investors should see a positive trading tone on the local bourse following the extension of the Wall Street’s rebound, supported by bargain hunting activities on significantly oversold stocks over the past few weeks.
“As for commodities, oil benchmark Brent crude is still trading above US$100 at around US$106-US$107, while the crude palm oil (CPO) price was little changed at around RM3,900.
“Nevertheless, we foresee the CPO price to remain under pressure in the second half of 2022 (2H22) after Indonesia’s government ramped up exports,” it said.
The brokerage firm also noted that the technology sector should see further improvements in trading activities after another positive session in the Nasdaq following the release of earnings reports from several corporates.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank rose seven sen to RM8.67, Public Bank gained one sen to RM4.44, Petronas Chemicals added two sen to RM8.57, IHH Healthcare increased three sen to RM6.46 and CIMB Group was four sen higher at RM5.13.
Of the actives, Bintai Kinden Corporation, Vinvest Capital Holdings and ARB increased half-a-sen each to 12.5 sen, 17.5 sen and 11.5 sen, respectively, while MMAG Holdings and MQ Technology were flat at five sen and 3.5 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 34.14 points to 10,234.11, the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 26.32 points to 10,325.73, the FBM 70 was 39.71 points higher at 12,270.74, the FBMT 100 Index climbed 34.21 points to 9,993.35 and the FBM ACE improved 13.91 points to 4,702.33.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index added 16.04 points to 6,805.30, the Financial Services Index gained 82.78 points to 16,149.64, the Energy Index was 3.12 points higher at 634.91 and the Industrial Products and Services Index added 0.04 of-a-point to 173.91.
Meanwhile, the ringgit extended its decline and opened easier today as the uncertain global markets weighed on investors’ risk appetite for risky assets, said a dealer.
At 9am, the local currency slipped to 4.4550/4570 versus the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.4500/4540.
SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said the local currency opened a touch weaker as investors prepared themselves to navigate the gauntlet of risks in Europe today, including the European Central Bank’s rate hike, the geopolitical tension in Italy and the uncertainty over the restart of the offshore natural gas pipeline, Nord Stream 1.
“As a result, global markets remain unstable, which impacts market sentiment. Also, the United States (US) currency strengthened due to increasing yields as the market anticipates that the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by 75 basis points next week,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded higher against a basket of major currencies.
The local currency inched up against the Singapore dollar to 3.1972/1989 from 3.1978/2009 yesterday and appreciated versus the British pound to 5.3309/3332 from 5.3498/3546 previously.
It also went up versus the Japanese yen to 3.2173/2190 from 3.2202/2233 yesterday and rose vis-à-vis the euro to 4.5379/5399 from 4.5586/5627 previously. – Bernama, July 21, 2022
