KUALA LUMPUR • Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session on a positive note amid continued buying of selected heavyweight stocks, led by banking counters.
At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 9.7 points to 1,407.32 from yesterday’s close of 1,397.62.
The benchmark index opened 6.14 points firmer at 1,403.76.
On the broader market, gainers led losers 454 to 244, while 332 counters were unchanged, 1,323 untraded and 30 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 940.55 billion units worth RM601.72 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research VP Thong Pak Leng said the local bourse was expected to stage an improved performance today, tracking Wall Street’s strong overnight performance.
“The FBM KLCI finally closed in positive territory yesterday after being in an oversold position for the past week. As such, we expect the index to trend in the 1,395 to 1,410 range today.
“We believe buying may return in technology stocks after the selling yesterday,” he told Bernama.
Thong also anticipated the oil and gas sector to see some positive reaction following reports that OPEC will cut production as Brent crude closed higher at almost US$89 (RM413.85) per barrel.
Among Bursa heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd improved six sen to RM8.66, Public Bank Bhd gained five sen to RM4.30, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd earned eight sen to RM5.20, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd added one sen to RM8.40, and IHH Healthcare Bhd shed five sen to RM5.84.
Of the actives, PT Resources Holdings Bhd edged up half-a-sen to 46 sen, Citaglobal Bhd rose two sen to 26 sen, Cypark Resources Bhd and Top Glove Corp Bhd climbed one sen each to 44 sen and 60.5 sen respectively, and Hiap Huat Holdings Bhd increased 1.5 sen to 15.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index improved 67.19 points to 10,034.59, the FBM 70 went up by 79.00 points to 12,167.79, and the FBM T100 Index perked 66.54 points to 9,789.50, the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 43.38 points to 10,038.48, and the FBM ACE bagged 25.42 points to 4,677.53.
Sector-wise, the Energy Index ticked up 11.41 points to 685.66, the Financial Services Index jumped 157.8 points to 16,101.01, and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.98 of-a-point to 169.64, but the Plantation Index contracted 57.78 points to 6,451.21. — Bernama / pic Muhd Amin Naharul