KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 — Bursa Malaysia has rebounded from its losses yesterday to end broadly higher at the close of the morning trading session.
The market was also tracking the upbeat performance of its regional peers, which took the cue from the overnight rebound in Wall Street.
At 12.30pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 13.26 points to 1,569.90 from Wednesday’s close of 1,556.64.
The key index opened 7.49 points higher at 1,564.13 and moved between 1,561.17 and 1,573.06 throughout the morning session.
Market breadth was positive, with gainers outpacing losers 635 to 365, while 392 counters were unchanged, 594 untraded and 33 others suspended.
Trading volume stood at 7.24 billion shares worth RM2.83 billion.
Regionally, China’s Shanghai Stock Exchange was flat at 3,319.28, Singapore’s Straits Times Index gained 1.29 per cent to 2,596.34, Japan’s Nikkei Index rose 2.03 per cent to 23,307.39, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index reduced 0.12 per cent to 25,213.62.
AxiCorp chief global market strategist Stephen Innes said Asian markets were picking up on the positive vibe after the United States peers briefly surpassed their all-time closing high, driven by surging technology shares.
“Asia looks set for a mildly enthusiastic day, even more so as the dollar weakens,” he said.
On the local front, a dealer said the market traded higher throughout the morning session, with buying activities commencing across board.
Trading volume remained high as investors were bargain hunting for beaten-down stocks, backed by the higher-than-average liquidity, she added.
Of the heavyweights, Maybank gained 14 sen to RM7.79, Public Bank rose 24 sen to RM17.64, Top Glove advanced 26 sen to RM24.76, Tenaga bagged two sen to RM11.16 and Hartalega increased 38 sen to RM16.50.
Among the most active, Priceworth edged up half-a-sen to four sen, Luster added 1.5 sen to 14.5 sen, Minho warrrant gained 12 sen to 19.0 sen, Sapura Energy eased half-a-sen to 13 sen, while Pegasus was flat at four sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased 91.21 points to 11,239.07, the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 75.76 points higher at 13,058.55 and the FBMT 100 Index rose 88.64 points to 11,058.48.
The FBM 70 climbed 96.62 points to 14,408.84 and the FBM ACE advanced 135.53 points to 10,134.02.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index added 57.53 points to 7,028.60, the Industrial Products and Services Index improved 1.14 points to 138.68 and the Financial Services Index surged 174.64 points to 13,369.93. — Bernama
