Bursa Malaysia Stays Higher At Midday Amid Upbeat Regional Markets
KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia stayed higher at midday in line with the upbeat regional market performance, supported by continued buying interest in selected heavyweights led by the financial services as well as industrial products and services sectors.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 13.15 points, or 0.78 per cent, to 1,709.71 from Monday’s close of 1,696.56.
The benchmark index, which opened 6.60 points higher at 1,703.16, fluctuated between 1,701.19 and 1,713.25 in the morning session.
Market breadth was positive, with gainers leading losers 567 to 402. A total of 420 counters were unchanged, 1,332 remained untraded, and 21 were suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.60 billion units valued at RM1.25 billion.
In a note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said it expected a recovery in local market sentiment following the Wall Street overnight rebound.
“Regarding stock picks, we favour TMK Chemical Bhd, as its products are widely utilised across various industrial sectors and serve as foundational building blocks for the electrical and electronics as well as semiconductor industries.
“Given its exposure to Singapore, Micron Technology’s capacity ramp-up should place TMK in a prime position to capitalise on the cyclical upswing,” it said.
Meanwhile, the brokerage firm said crude prices are expected to stabilise above US$90 per barrel, as little progress has been made in de-escalating regional conflicts, which may benefit Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd and Hengyuan Refining Company Bhd in the near term.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank gained 10 sen to RM11.58, Public Bank edged up 6.0 sen to RM4.86, and Petronas Chemicals surged 14 sen to RM4.72, while SD Guthrie dropped 5.0 sen to RM5.75 and Nestle gave up RM1.20 to RM101.00.
On the most active list, Pharmaniaga added 2.5 sen to 28 sen, ACE Market debutant Adnex climbed 3.0 sen to 23 sen, Zetrix AI put on 1.0 sen to 78.5 sen, and VS Industry and Handal Energy inched up half a sen each to 29 sen and 3.5 sen, respectively.
Of the top gainers, United Plantations jumped 54 sen to RM33.80, Allianz Malaysia increased 38 sen to RM21.54, Itmax System was 25 sen better at RM4.69, Fraser & Neave racked up 24 sen to RM31.50, and Malayan Cement improved 21 sen to RM6.83.
Besides Nestle, the top losers included Dutch Lady Milk Industries which erased 36 sen to RM31.64, Westports which lost 7.0 sen to RM5.93, Gas Malaysia which fell 10 sen to RM5.24, and Hengyuan Refining Company which decreased 6.0 sen to RM1.58.
On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index advanced 91.45 points to 12,320.99, the FBM Emas Index improved 91.59 points to 12,476.36, the FBM 70 Index jumped 111.96 points to 17,100.78, the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 67.10 points to 12,175.11, and the FBM ACE Index perked up 23.52 points to 4,398.01.
By sector, the Financial Services Index added 206.63 points to 20,618.46, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 2.27 points to 177.29, the Plantation Index increased 9.82 points to 8,527.65, and the Energy Index trimmed 3.28 points to 785.68.
-- BERNAMA