Bursa Malaysia opens slightly higher

KUALA LUMPUR,. Bursa Malaysia rebounded slightly from yesterday’s losses to open marginally higher supported by renewed buying in selected heavyweights.

At 9.15am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased slightly by 0.24 of-a-point to 1,411.78 from 1,411.54 at yesterday’s close.

The barometer index opened 0.18 of-a-point weaker at 1,411.36.

However, the broader market saw decliners surpassing advancers 185 to 157, while 244 counters were unchanged, 1,672 untraded and 14 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 236.06 million units worth RM110.98 million.

In a note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said investors will likely remain jittery as the debt ceiling negotiations appeared to yield little progress.

“Investors may focus on fundamentally solid companies amid the earnings season on the local bourse.

“Commodities-wise, Brent crude oil traded above US$76 per barrel, while the crude palm oil price hovered above RM3,400 per tonne. Gold price remained below US$2,000 per ounce,” it said.

Malacca Securities said the semiconductor sector could be one of the sectors under the limelight following the government’s plans to strengthen Malaysia’s semiconductor system in the hope of achieving 15 per cent market share by 2030.

“Besides, investors may favour the telecommunications and utilities sectors prior to the release of their results,” it added.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank fell 2.0 sen to RM8.59, CIMB Group eased 3.0 sen to RM4.98, Public Bank and Tenaga Nasional declined 1.0 sen each to RM3.90 and RM9.55, but Petronas Chemicals added 7.0 sen to RM6.96.

As for the active counters, Bahvest Resources went up 2.0 sen to 18.0 sen, YTL Corporation ticked up 2.5 sen to 80.5 sen, Aneka Jaringan gained 1.0 sen to 18.0 sen, while Tanco and Jade Marvel put on half-a-sen each to 55.0 sen and 24.0 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index shaved 3.50 points to 10,367.15, the FBMT 100 Index dropped 3.77 points to 10,066.72, the FBM Emas Shariah Index perked 8.29 points to 10,750.50 and the FBM 70 Index slid 27.98 points to 13,571.83, while the FBM ACE Index advanced 19.16 points to 4,936.95.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index grew 0.57 of-a-point to 164.70, the Financial Services Index fell 34.31 points to 15,375.90, the Plantation Index reduced 11.55 points to 6,963.60 and the Energy Index contracted 1.68 points to 835.17. — Bernama