KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (NNN-Bernama) — Bursa Malaysia, the stock exchange of Malaysia, moved into positive territory in the early trade on Wednesday as investors continued to put their money into energy, industrial products and services as well as banking stocks.
A rebound in oil prices and easing fears about the banking crisis in the United States and Europe contributed to improved sentiments on the local front.
At 9.05 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) advanced 4.4 points to 1,413.49 from yesterday’s closing of 1,409.09, after opening 1.61 points lower at 1,407.48.
Market breadth was positive as gainers led decliners by 151 to 100, while 196 counters were unchanged, 1,844 untraded and 25 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 117.52 million units worth RM46.82 million (US$1 = RM4.40)
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI finally woke up as it broke the 1,400 decisively due to strong broad-based buying in blue chips.
He also expects some accumulation to persist despite the market undertone remaining cautious as the local bourse has been grossly oversold.
“We reckon interests to centre on the banks today which had been sold-down of late, coupled with the oil and gas stocks as crude oil prices continued to climb due to lower inventory that saw the Brent crude edging towards the US$80 per barrel,” he said.
Additionally, China’s commitment to continue to open its economy to foreign investors is also set to boost domestic sentiments.
Meanwhile, Press Metal continued to lead the heavyweights, increasing 11 sen to RM4.94; while IHH was nine sen higher at RM5.84 and CIMB rose six sen to RM5.27.
Maybank, CelcomDigi, IOI and AMMB all added three sen each to RM8.54, RM4.32, RM3.76 and RM3.66, respectively.
Among the actives, Hong Seng Consolidated, Dataprep and Mestron lost half-a-sen each to 11 sen, 18.5 sen and 39.5 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 25.73 points to 10,327.64, the FBMT 100 Index advanced 25.38 points to 10,026.21 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 20.44 points to 10,639.73.
The FBM 70 Index improved by 9.68 points to 13,299.22, while the FBM ACE Index fell 23.38 points to 5,182.13.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index bagged 48.78 points to 15,609.17, the Energy Index perked 4.90 points to 818.33 and the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.70 of-a-point to 168.70, while the Plantation Index reduced 29.08 points to 6,685.66.
— NNN-BERNAMA