Bursa Malaysia Ends Morning Session Higher On Upbeat Sentiment After US Trade Deal
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 27 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session higher amid positive investor sentiment following the historic reciprocal trade deal inked yesterday between Malaysia and the United States (US).
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased 5.31 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 1,618.58 from Friday’s close of 1,613.27.
The benchmark index opened 6.84 points firmer at 1,620.11 and moved between 1,617.84 and 1,623.23 during the session.
Market breadth was negative with 510 losers outpacing 476 gainers, while 501 counters were unchanged, 1,238 untraded and 12 suspended.
Turnover stood at 2.24 billion units valued at RM1.47 billion.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said with the US and Malaysia sealing a historic reciprocal trade deal yesterday, it expects the FBM KLCI to stage further upside potential, particularly in technology and glove counters.
“Malaysian glove manufacturers are likely to stand out against their Chinese peers given the widened rate differential.
“Meanwhile, technology stocks are expected to trade broadly higher on positive sentiment stemming from the US-Malaysia meeting,” it said in a note today.
Among the heavyweights, CIMB Group advanced nine sen to RM7.46, IHH Healthcare added two sen to RM8.35, Tenaga Nasional rose 10 sen to RM13.30, while Maybank and Public Bank were unchanged at RM9.90 and RM4.22, respectively.
On the most active list, ACE Market debutant Insight Group soared 32 sen to 68 sen, and Tanco Holdings gained half-a-sen to 89 sen. TWL Holdings and Land & General slid half-a-sen to two sen and 16 sen, respectively, while Perak Transit was unchanged at 33.5 sen.
Top gainers included Malaysian Pacific Industries which surged 70 sen to RM30.68, Fraser & Neave advanced 44 sen to RM28.60, United Plantations increased 40 sen to RM24.40, Kuala Lumpur Kepong climbed 34 sen to RM20.86, and PPB Group jumped 32 sen to RM11.52.
Top losers included Nestle which fell 30 sen to RM107.70, Petronas Gas eased 12 sen to RM18.62, FACB Industries declined 11 sen to RM1.54, and Hi Mobility and Sungei Bagan Rubber dropped 10 sen to RM2.42 and RM5.60, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index advanced 39.81 points to 12,110.81, the FBMT 100 Index rose 42.08 points to 11,845.67, the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 49.27 points to 12,195.96, the FBM 70 Index jumped 75.27 points to 17,246.26, while the FBM ACE Index tumbled 40.27 points to 5,252.39.
By sector, the Financial Services Index increased 64.06 points to 18,268.70, the Plantation Index surged 73.34 points to 7,982.63, while the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.09 of-a-point to 171.82, and the Energy Index slipped 6.07 points to 785.25.
-- BERNAMA