KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 5 (NNN-Bernama) — Bursa Malaysia, the stock exchange of Malaysia, opened on a mixed note Friday and will likely track regional market movements and Wall Street’s overnight mixed performance.
At 9.08 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was up marginally by 0.62 points to 1,477.88 from Thursday’s close of 1,477.26.
The benchmark index opened 0.37 of-a-point lower at 1,476.89.
On the broader market, gainers beat losers 229 to 152, while 326 counters were unchanged, 1,513 untraded, and 17 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 405.90 million units worth RM117.61 million (US$1=RM4.645).
Recapping Thursday’s performance, Rakuten Trade equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI finally came to life from an influx of buyers on a broad-based basis.
“The index managed to break above the 1,465 mark to close in on the 1,480 level. The uptrend seems sustainable.
“As such, we expect the benchmark index to trend in the 1,475-1,485 range today as accumulation on the big caps continues,” Thong told Bernama.
Meanwhile, sentiment in the US was mixed as investors remained cautious about interest rates and the stretched valuations of US equities.
Over in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index was flat as expectations of lower interest rates from the US Federal Reserve (Fed) dissipated.
On the crude oil market, prices remain soft due to the building up of US inventory. As a result, the Brent crude dipped to US$77 per barrel.
Among heavyweights, YTL Corporation rose 4.0 sen to RM2.09, Tenaga shed 10 sen to RM10.32, QL Resources added 6.0 sen to RM5.78, YTL Power International increased 3.0 sen to RM3.03, IOI Corporation eased 3.0 sen to RM3.97 and MR DIY was up 1.0 sen to RM1.45.
Of the actives, Luster Industries rose 3.0 sen to 9.5 sen, Hong Seng Consolidated and MQ Technology grew half-a-sen each to 3.0 sen and 3.0, respectively, while Minetech was flat at 21 sen.
On the index board, the FBM ACE Index expanded 11.98 points to 5,399.87, the FBM Emas Index increased 7.65 points to 11,011.79 and the FBMT 100 Index garnered 6.59 points to 10,661.76.
The FBM 70 Index improved 17.92 points to 14,893.83 but the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 4.39 points to 11,1163.30.
Sector-wise, the Property Index added 1.35 points to 916.72, the Energy Index gained 0.30 of-a-point to 834.79 and the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.01 of-a-point to 177.11.
The Financial Services Index bagged 16.07 points to 16,481.27 but the Plantation Index eased by 14.23 points to 7,023.34.
— NNN-BERNAMA
