Bursa Malaysia Higher At Midday On Continued Bargain Hunting
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia remained higher at midday today, supported by continued bargain hunting in most index-linked counters, analysts said.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 0.42 per cent, or 6.61 points, to 1,560.24 from Monday’s close of 1,553.63.
The benchmark index, which opened 3.40 points higher at 1,557.03, moved between 1,554.59 and 1,562.49 during the morning session.
Market breadth was positive with gainers outpacing losers by 483 to 329, while 444 counters were unchanged, 1,048 untraded, and 14 suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.44 billion shares worth RM953.12 million.
An analyst said the local bourse also tracked the regional markets’ performance, which bounced back after US President Donald Trump said tariffs on Mexico and Canada would be delayed for a month.
According to news reports, the White House also said Trump would speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping, sparking hopes that a deal could be reached that could avert a broader trade war.
Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd said amid heightened volatility in equities, it observed a shift in funds toward safe asset classes, particularly gold, with prices surpassing US$2,800 per troy ounce.
“For today, we anticipate the index to hover within the 1,550-1,560 range as investors may prefer to stay sidelined while waiting for prevailing chaos to dissipate,” it said in a note.
Among the heavyweights, CIMB surged 7.0 sen to RM8.07, Public Bank gained 3.0 sen to RM4.35, and Maybank added 4.0 sen to RM10.34. SD Guthrie and Tenaga increased 6.0 sen each to RM4.91 and RM13.64 respectively.
For most active counters, Harvest Miracle Capital perked up 1.0 sen to 19.5 sen, Oriental Kopi edged up 3.0 sen to 88.5, Velesto Energy shed half-a-sen to 18.5 sen, MYEG improved 1.5 sen to 96 sen, and Kinergy Advancement was flat at 32.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index put on 47.66 points to 11,913.72, the FBMT 100 Index climbed 48.64 points to 11,607.25, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 45.67 points to 11,767.49.
The FBM ACE Index gained 33.92 points to 5,223.09 and the FBM 70 Index garnered 72.05 points to 17,659.67.
By sector, the Financial Services Index expanded 67.08 points to 18,906.90, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased by 0.01 of-a-point to 163.72, the Energy Index firmed by 0.11 of-a-point to 816.23, and the Plantation Index increased 28.15 points to 7,373.99.
-- BERNAMA