KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 (NNN-Bernama) — A positive performance on Wall Street overnight helped lift the stock exchange of Malaysia, Bursa Malaysia, in opening trades this morning.
At 9.09 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 6.06 points to 1,402.66 compared to Monday’s close of 1,396.60.
The market bellwether opened 5.00 points higher at 1,401.60.
The market breadth was positive with gainers leading decliners 157 to 110, while 235 counters were unchanged, 1,794 untraded and 24 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 217.86 million units valued at RM77.62 million (US$1 = RM4.40).
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said efforts by US authorities to rescue its troubled banks have contributed to improved sentiments.
As a result, the Dow Jones rose 194 points while the S&P 500 climbed 6.0 points. However, the Nasdaq declined by 55 points as higher interest rates would dampen the growth of tech companies with the US 10-year yield edging higher to 3.54 per cent.
“However, confidence remains fragile in view of the recent US banking crisis and amid concerns about Deutsche Bank emerging,” he said.
On the home front, “we reckon bargain hunting to emerge anytime soon despite overall sentiment remaining cautious, thus anticipate the index to trend between the 1,400 and1,410 range today,” he added.
Thong reckons that interest might also return to oil and gas stocks on the back of higher crude Brent oil prices above US$78 per barrel.
Among Bursa Malaysia heavyweights, the banks are gaining traction with Public Bank and CIMB rising three sen to RM3.92 and RM5.19, respectively.
Press Metal added six sen to RM4.75, Hong Leong Bank was 20 sen stronger at RM20.18 and Petronas Chemicals went up five sen to RM6.87.
Among the actives, Hong Seng Consolidated eased half-a-sen to 12 sen, Jade Marvel improved half-a-sen to 30.5 sen, VisDynamics tumbled 17 sen to 74 sen and Zen Tech was unchanged at two sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased 32.91 points to 10,266.93, the FBMT 100 Index advanced 33.92 points to 9,964.33 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index went up 22.60 points to 10,590.08.
The FBM 70 Index bagged 7.48 points to 13,279.12, and the FBM ACE Index climbed 27.09 points to 5,244.04.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index chalked up 74.02 points to 15,496.52, the Energy Index grew 14.23 points to 807.18 and the Plantation Index earned 23.22 points to 6,679.94.
The Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.81 of-a-point to 166.77.
— NNN-BERNAMA
