BURSA MALAYSIA RISES ON BARGAIN HUNTING

By Abdul Hamid A Rahman

KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened higher today, driven by bargain hunting following yesterday's decline, which made stocks more attractive to investors.

At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 7.48 points to 1,629.55 from Monday's close of 1,622.07. The index opened 3.16 points higher at 1,625.23. 

In the broader market, gainers outnumbered decliners 353 to 122, with 291 counters unchanged, 1,705 untraded and 16 suspended.

Turnover stood at 291.12 million units worth RM184.96 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's equity research vice-president, Thong Pak Leng, noted that the FBM KLCI declined to nearly 1,620 yesterday as selling activities gathered momentum amid a broad regional sell-off.

"We were surprised by the selling, possibly due to the heightening uncertainty in US politics.

"Nonetheless, we see some bargain-hunting activities today and expect the index to hover within the 1,625-1,635 range," he told Bernama.

Thong said that Wall Street rebounded yesterday following sharp sell-offs in previous sessions, as traders weighed the impact of Joe Biden stepping down from the presidential election.

"Meanwhile, focus will also be on the personal consumption expenditure index, which is due on 26 July 2024.

"As a result, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 128 points, while the Nasdaq jumped 281 points as the US 10-year yield edged higher to 4.25 per cent,” he added.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank added 6.0 sen to RM10.12, CIMB Group gained 5.0 sen to RM7.17, IHH Healthcare rose 4.0 sen to RM6.30, while Tenaga Nasional and Public Bank increased 2.0 sen each to RM14.46 and RM4.21, respectively.

Among the actives, newly listed Well Chip Group soared 56 sen to RM1.71, Pegasus Heights gained half a sen to 1 sen, and Eversendai Corporation rose by 4 sen to 61.5 sen. Meanwhile, Sapura Energy and BWYS Group were flat at 4.0 sen and 35 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index jumped 70.07 points to 12,617.58, the FBMT 100 Index expanded 68.04 points to 12,195.31, the FBM Emas Shariah Index bounced 75.10 points to 12,982.69, the FBM 70 Index gained 148.73 points to 18,826.31, and the FBM ACE Index increased 29.65 points to 5,920.57.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index rose 71.51 points to 17,972.33, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.96 of a point to 195.91, the Energy Index gained 1.43 points to 963.49, and the Plantation Index garnered 17.78 points to 7,226.16.

-- BERNAMA