KUALA LUMPUR, July 13 (NNN-Bernama) — Bursa Malaysia opened marginally higher Thursday, supported by buying demand in blue chips, led by consumer products and services counters, in tandem with the mostly higher regional peers.
At 9.33 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 0.98 of-a-point to 1,399.04 from 1,398.06 at Wednesday’s close.
The key index opened 3.04 points better at 1,401.10.
The broader market was also positive as advancers beat decliners 277 to 208, while 283 counters were unchanged, 1,488 untraded and 14 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 535.62 million units worth RM217.11 million (US$1=RM4.61).
Malacca Securities said the softer US inflation data may provide near-term impetus for further upsides for the equities market, while the firmer crude oil prices should translate to greater trading interest within the energy sector moving forward.
It said the local market remained upbeat on Wednesday as the key index was just a hair away from the 1,400-psychological level on the back of upbeat economic data.
“Gains were also driven by foreign funds which have turned into net buying position for the first time in seven trading days.
“The lower liners were also performing better on the back of the positive market sentiment of late, which may have attributed to the rotational play, supported by broad-based recovery tune amid rising commodities prices,” it said in a note Thursday.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank and Tenaga Nasional were flat at RM8.75 and RM9.03, respectively, Public Bank and CIMB went up 2.0 sen each to RM3.89 and RM5.24, respectively, while IHH Healthcare fell 3.0 sen to RM5.92.
Of the actives, KNM Group was flat at 8.5 sen, Sarawak Consolidated slipped 1.5 sen to 48 sen while AHB Holdings and Hong Seng added 1.0 sen each to 15 sen and 9.5 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 11.77 points to 10,312.12, the FBMT 100 Index was 9.67 points better at 9,999.86, the FBM ACE Index declined 5.87 points to 5,215.40, the FBM 70 Index improved 24.63 points to 13,579.49, while the FBM Emas Shariah Index perked 0.33 of-a-point to 10,602.84.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index garnered 47.91 points to 15,545.19, the Plantation Index shed 1.10 points to 6,894.93, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.51 of-a-point to 160.75, while the Energy Index rose 3.08 points to 804.47.
— NNN-BERNAMA