Bursa Opens Higher, Tracking Wall Street Gains

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened higher on Tuesday, buoyed by positive performance on Wall Street overnight lifted by easing United States (US)-China tensions and optimism over a potential end to the US government shutdown.

At 9.19 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.54 points to 1,610.72 from Friday’s close of 1,607.18.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng noted that Wall Street closed broadly higher as traders decided to concentrate on the good and looked past the bad amid the ongoing shutdown and outstanding credit risks.

“We believe bargain hunting activities will emerge anytime soon; hence, expect the index to hover between the 1,605-1,620 range today,” he said.

In active trading, MMAG and EA Holdings were falt at 59 sen and half-a-sen, respectively, Computer Forms rose half-a-sen to 11 sen, while Dagang Nexchange and PA Resources increased one sen each to 28 sen and 18 sen.

Top gainers included Nestle, which climbed RM1.40 to RM106.40, Malaysian Pacific Industries added 64 sen to RM29.56, MI Technovation was 14 sen firmer at RM2.84 and Tenaga Nasional gained 12 sen to RM13.22.

Among the top losers, Batu Kawan fell 30 sen to RM19.0, Freaser & Neave slipped 12 sen to RM28.02, Hong Leong Financial and Petronas Dagangan decreased eight sen each to RM17.0 and RM22.14, respectively.

On the index board, the FBMT 100 Index added 40.13 points to 11,782.15, the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 61.61 points to 12,118.88, and the FBM ACE Index gained 47.96 points to 5,326.85. The FBM Emas Index strengthened 44.57 points to 12,049.48 and the FBM Mid 70 Index improved 107.55 points to 17,115.49.

By sector, the Financial Services Index added 10.61 points to 18,203.05, and the Plantation Index declined 5.11 points to 7,855.75. The Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.31 of-a-point to 171.36, and the Energy Index expanded 3.60 points to 792.53.

-- BERNAMA