BURSA Malaysia opened flattish on Friday amid a quiet market ahead of the long Chinese New Year weekend. 

At 9.11 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) inched down 0.05 of-a-point to 1,512.31 from Thursday’s close of 1,512.36. 

The barometer index opened 1.46 points higher at 1,513.82.  

On the broader market, losers and gainers stood at 148 to 145, while 214 counters were unchanged, 1,780 untraded and 11 others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 168.88 million units worth RM49.76 million.

In a note today, Hong Leong Investment Bank said the FBM KLCI may waver near the 1,500-1,510 support level before charging higher towards the 1,528-1,548 hurdle, ahead of the CNY celebrations.

“Market sentiment is also likely to remain cautious due to ongoing concerns about the US Federal Reserve restrictive policy stance, uncertainties surrounding the sustainability of China’s stock market rebound, and the expectation of a flurry of upcoming local corporate results after the CNY,” it added.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank and Petronas Gas added two sen to RM9.28 and RM17.80, respectively.

Hong Leong Bank increased four sen to RM19.04, Press Metal gained one sen to RM4.63, CIMB, TNB and Petronas Chemicals were flat at RM6.23, RM10.78 and RM6.71, respectively, while Public Bank fell one sen to RM4.36 and IHH Healthcare eased two sen to RM6.11. 

 As for the actives, Revenue edged up half-a-sen to 21 sen, Dataprep advanced 2.5 sen to 15.5 sen and Tex Cycle rose 1.5 sen to 71 sen.

DC Healthcare went up one sen to 32.5 sen while TWL Holdings, Reneuco and Destini were flat at four sen, seven sen and 5.5 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 1.19 points higher at 11,235.12, the FBMT 100 Index edged up 0.82 of-a-point to 10,898.30, the FBM 70 Index appreciated 6.19 points to 15,175.42, the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 3.54 points to 11,269.37, and the FBM ACE Index went up 11.34 points to 4,783.15.  

Sector-wise, the Property Index inched up 0.41 of-a-point to 905.51, the Plantation Index improved 8.25 points to 7,206.16, and the Energy Index added 3.53 points to 884.23.

The Financial Services Index jumped 12.55 points to 16,929.44, and the Industrial Products and Services Index gained 0.04 of-a-point to 172.27. — BERNAMA