KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 23 ― Bursa Malaysia extended its upward momentum to open marginally higher today, lifted by positive market sentiments following the upbeat overnight Wall Street.
At 9.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 1.04 points to 1,492.23, compared with yesterday's close of 1,491.19.
The barometer index opened 1.37 points better at 1,492.56.
Market breadth was positive with advancers outpacing losers 157 to 112, while 240 counters were unchanged, 1,763 untraded and 13 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 182.68 million units worth RM76.33 million.
Rakuten Trade equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street continued with its uptrend as traders largely ignored whether the United States (US) economy will be able to engineer a soft landing amid a mixed bag of economic indicators.
“Nonetheless, as all three major indices are hovering at their respective all-time highs, it will be interesting to see if prevailing fundamentals can sustain the rally,” he said.
On the home front, the FBM KLCI ended yesterday’s session firmer due to some bargain-hunting activities.
“We are hopeful that the index can break the 1,500 level decisively soon to maintain the upward trajectory.
“For today, we believe the index will hover within the 1,490-1,500 range, taking the positive cue from Wall Street,” he told Bernama.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank and CIMB gained two sen each to RM9.03 and RM5.99, respectively, CelcomDigi picked up three sen to RM4.26, and Hong Leong Bank rose six sen to RM19.08, while Public Bank trimmed one sen to RM4.33.
However, Tenaga, Petronas Chemicals and IHH Healthcare were flat at RM10.48, RM6.71 and RM5.97, respectively.
As for the actives, YNH was the most actively traded stock this morning after rising 3.5 sen or 6.31 per cent to 59 sen, with 22.55 million shares changing hands.
At the same time, Sawarak Consolidated bagged two sen to 45.5 sen, Widad Group and Berjaya Corporation inched up half-a-sen each to 14 sen and 30 sen, respectively, Leform added one sen to 19 sen, while Bina Puri and Minetech were flat at eight sen and 15.5 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 9.86 points higher at 11,132.08, the FBM 70 Index increased 20.66 points to 15,174.46, the FBMT 100 Index gained 9.67 points to 10,789.96, the FBM Emas Shariah Index improved 7.18 points to 11,239.89, and the FBM ACE Index added 0.32 of-a-point to 4,834.12.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index added 12.01 points to 16,633.86, the Property Index bagged 0.93 of-a-point to 906.53, the Plantation Index perked 1.64 points to 7,152.37, the Energy Index edged up 6.13 points to 860.48 and the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.1 point to 173.53. ― Bernama
