KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 26 — Bursa Malaysia was higher in early trade today, with the key index staying within the 1,500 level amid positive market sentiment globally.

At 9.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) added 0.66 of-a-point to 1,504.76, compared with Wednesday’s close of 1,504.1.

The barometer index opened 0.65 of-a-point easier at 1,503.45.

On the broader market, gainers led losers 221 to 135, while 284 counters were unchanged, 1,657 untraded, and 49 others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 296.45 million units worth RM156.16 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI continued to trend higher, added 8.0 points to finish at 1,504.1 on Wednesday with broad-based buying. Bursa Malaysia Bhd and its subsidiaries were closed on Thursday, in conjunction with Thaipusam.

"We reckon if the index can sustain above the 1,500 level for an extended period, we can anticipate stronger potential upwards in the near term.

"With the improvement of global equities, we anticipate that the FBM KLCI will trend higher within the 1,500-1,510 range today,” he told Bernama.

On the external front, Thong said Wall Street finished firmer on Thursday with data indicating continued economic growth. Key indices in Asia ended mostly higher, experiencing significant gains in China and Hong Kong.

Sentiment was buoyed by the Chinese government’s commitment to providing additional economic support, which is expected to enhance liquidity in the banking system.

The People’s Bank of China will slash the reserve requirement ratio by 50 basis points, releasing about US$140 billion of cash to support the economy.

As a result, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 313 points, or 2 per cent, to finish above the 16,000 level.

Back home, among the heavyweights, Maybank gained two sen to RM9.19, CIMB and Petronas Chemicals added one sen each to RM6.13 and RM6.76, respectively.

Public Bank slid three sen to RM4.34, Tenaga and IHH Healthcare slipped two sen each to RM10.50 and RM6.05, respectively, CelcomDigi lost four sen to RM4.21, while Hong Leong Bank fell six sen to RM19.12.

As for the actives, KJTS Group surged 20.5 sen to 47.5 sen, MRCB bagged 3.5 sen to 61.5 sen, Berjaya Land earned 7.5 sen to 45 sen, YNH Property gained 1.5 sen to 67 sen, while Widad Group inched down half-a-sen to 17.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 11.39 points higher at 11,219.6, the FBM 70 Index increased 37.97 points to 15,242.39, the FBMT 100 Index rose 10.45 points to 10,869.78, the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 13.72 points to 11,307.01, but the FBM ACE Index shed 15.21 points to 4,846.21.

Sector-wise, the Property Index improved by 6.24 points to 916.11, the Plantation Index gained 2.55 points to 7,194.31, and the Energy Index picked up 6.03 points to 875.69.

The Financial Services Index gave up 14.28 points to touch 16,752.31 and the Industrial Products and Services Index slipped 0.03 of-a-point to 174.8. — Bernama