KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia extended yesterday’s gains to open higher today, tracking positive Wall Street performance overnight amid bullish market sentiment across the regional markets.
At 9.10am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose by 2.77 points to 1,477.94 from yesterday’s close of 1,475.17.
The key index opened 1.96 points better at 1,477.13.
Market breadth was positive with gainers leading losers 202 to 123, while 270 counters were unchanged, 1,592 untraded and nine others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 261.37 million units worth RM98.36 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the United States stock markets extended their lead with the Dow Jones index advancing 1.1% ahead of the release of key inflation data that was expected to show further easing.
With a broad-based rebound on Wall Street overnight, the market could be positioning ahead of the release of the January Consumer Price Index inflation report, whereby most of the traders could be anticipating cooling inflation, it said.
“Hence, we believe the bullish sentiment is likely to spill over to the regional markets as well as the local bourse, especially in the technology sector. Commodities-wise, Brent crude oil traded above US$85 (RM370.22) per barrel, while crude palm oil hovered above RM3,900 per tonne,” the brokerage said in a note.
On its sector focus, Malacca Securities remained positive on the construction, building material, and renewable energy sectors prior to the retabling of Budget 2023.
Meanwhile, among Bursa heavyweights, Maybank and Petronas Chemicals gained 3.0 sen each to RM8.80 and RM8.11, respectively, Public Bank rose 1.0 sen to RM4.20, CIMB was flat at RM5.44, and Tenaga Nasional fell 3.0 sen to RM9.88.
As for the actives, both Hong Seng and Pesona Metro added 1.0 sen to 21 sen and 31 sen, respectively, Visdynamics increased 3.0 sen to RM1.06, and CSH Alliance slid 1.5 sen to 5.0 sen, while Iris and Aimflex were flat at 11.5 sen and 15.5 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index grew 18.74 points to 10,752.51, the FBMT 100 Index improved 19.06 points to 10,422.63, the FBM 70 Index advanced 22.76 points to 13,563.19, the FBM Emas Shariah Index went up 18.34 points to 11,039.61, and the FBM ACE Index was 34.07 points firmer at 5,709.43.
Sector-wise, the plantation index climbed 8.09 points to 6,846.96, the industrial products and services index edged up 0.42 of-a-point to 188.42, the energy index rose 0.82 of-a-point to 898.85, and the financial services index gained 29.93 points to 16,180.89. – Bernama, February 14, 2023
