.JPG "An investor monitors the stock prices in the gallery of the RHB Investment Bank Bhd headquarters in Kuala Lumpur March 17, 2020. u00e2u20acu2022 Picture by Hari Anggara")
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 7 ― Bursa Malaysia extended yesterday's upbeat momentum to open higher today in most of the indices, as the US stock markets continued their gains overnight.
At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 0.24 point to 1,588.81 from 1,588.57 at yesterday's close.
The key index opened 1.97 points higher at 1,590.54 at 9am.
Market breadth was positive, with gainers beating losers 415 to 122, while 302 counters were unchanged, 1,140 untraded and 25 others suspended.
Trading volume stood at 1.49 billion shares worth RM459.14 million.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.7 per cent to mark its fifth straight session of winning streak buoyed by better-than-expected jobless claims at 1.2 million last week from consensus forecast of 1.4 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd sees the liquidity-driven market, with trading volumes at a fresh new high, would play a key role for a further upside on stocks across Bursa Malaysia.
Sentiment will also be driven by the ringgit that rose to a five-month high against the US dollar alongside the higher crude oil prices.
At the same time, it said, investors will be keeping an eye on Malaysia’s unemployment rate as a gauge of economic performance.
Meanwhile, the stockbroking company said the healthcare sector and the safe-haven asset-related stocks are expected to continue to soar.
“The stabilising crude palm oil prices above RM2,700 tonne may garner some trading interest within the plantation sector on rising demand from the Middle East and Africa,” it said in a note.
In a separate note, Maybank IB Research said technically, the FBMKLCI is likely to range between 1,570 and 1,620 today, with the downside support at 1,550 and 1,515.
Of the heavyweights, Maybank fell one sen to RM7.51, Top Glove rose 10 sen to RM28.50, Hartalega decreased 14 sen to RM19.66 and Public Bank shed six sen to RM16.92.
Tenaga gained two sen to RM11.02 and IHH eased four sen to RM5.36.
Of the most active, Borneo Oil added 1.5 sen to 6.5 sen, Trive bagged one sen to two sen and Pegasus improved half-a-sen to four sen.
Among top gainers, Upa bagged 80 sen to RM3.50, Notion improved 42 sen to RM2.29 and Supermax added 34 sen to RM24.12.
For the top losers, Dutch Lady eased 20 sen to RM39.20, Hartalega slid 14 sen to RM19.66 and Advaenta lost 11 sen to RM4.60.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index edged up 16.96 points to 11,493.59, the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 30.92 points firmer at 13,677.52 and the FBMT 100 Index strengthened 12.44 points to 11,292.41.
The FBM 70 rose 58.0 points to 15,109.47 and the FBM ACE jumped 268.76 points to 10,791.93.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index increased 1.00 point to 142.75, the Financial Services Index was down 8.26 points at 12,984.94 and the Plantation Index climbed 19.05 points to 7,091.25. ― Bernama
