Bursa Malaysia Rebounds To Open Slightly Higher

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia rebounded from last week's losses to open marginally higher today, driven by mild buying interest in selected heavyweights, a dealer said.

At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) inched up 0.41 of a point to 1,576.75 from Friday’s close of 1,576.34.

The benchmark index opened 1.92 points firmer at 1,578.26.

However, the market breadth was slightly negative, with decliners leading advancers 161 to 136. A total of 308 counters were unchanged, 1,981 untraded and six suspended.

Turnover stood at 83.43 million shares worth RM36.44 million.

Tracking the positive performance of Wall Street’s index futures, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd expected the local bourse to start the week positively.

“Wall Street ended broadly lower on Friday, as weaker retail sales and a sharp rise in inflation expectations pressured the markets. On the geopolitical front, talks between Trump and Putin in Alaska regarding a peace plan for Ukraine concluded without a breakthrough, although Trump struck an optimistic tone.

“Sector-wise, we believe the construction and utility segments will continue to outperform, as IJM recently secured its largest data centre project worth RM1.4 billion in Johor, bringing its total order book to RM9.2 billion,” it said in a note today.

Among the heavyweight stocks, Maybank was flat at RM9.80, Public Bank fell 1.0 sen to RM4.44, CIMB slipped 3.0 sen to RM7.22, while Tenaga Nasional added 4.0 sen to RM13.66 and RMIHH Healthcare improved 1.0 sen to RM6.83.

On the actively traded list, PRG Holdings went up 1.0 sen to 11 sen, Velesto earned half-a-sen to 19 sen, NEXG was flat at 39.5 sen, while SFP Tech reduced 1.0 sen to 14 sen.

On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index advanced 3.75 points to 11,734.81, the FBMT 100 Index gained 4.42 points to 11,517.28, the FBM Emas Shariah Index secured 15.76 points to 11,670.61, and the FBM Mid 70 Index rose 12.78 points to 16,673.46, while the FBM ACE Index declined 12 points to 4,701.45.

By sector, the Financial Services Index trimmed 31.71 points to 18,048.36, the Plantation Index bagged 14.96 points to 7,518.99, the Energy Index edged up 1.20 points to 742.03, and the Industrial Products and Services Index shaved 0.19 of a point to 157.53.

-- BERNAMA