Bursa Malaysia Edges Higher In Early Trade
By Anas Abu Hassan
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 24 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened higher on Monday, buoyed by Friday’s Wall Street rally and bargain-hunting activity.
At 9.06 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 2.91 points to 1,620.48, after opening 2.57 points higher at 1,620.14, above Friday’s close of 1,617.57.
Market breadth was positive, with 193 gainers outpacing 128 decliners, while 284 counters were unchanged, 2,182 untraded and 28 suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.18 million shares valued at RM61.88 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street finished higher on Friday as investors engaged in bargain hunting following several days of sell-offs.
“Locally, the FBM KLCI is likely to remain range-bound as investors stay cautious amid ongoing macroeconomic developments. Even so, the broader market is showing encouraging strength, supported by strong trading volumes over the past several sessions, indicating that investors are gradually returning,” he told Bernama.
Thong added that bargain-hunting activities are expected to continue, with the benchmark index likely trading within the 1,615–1,625 range today.
Among heavyweights, Maybank slipped one sen to RM9.93, CIMB added seven sen to RM7.53, Tenaga Nasional rose two sen to RM13.12, while Public Bank and IHH were flat at RM4.28 and RM8.12 respectively.
On the most active list, Tanco and AHB were unchanged at RM1.04 and three sen respectively, Land & General rose 1.5 sen to 16 sen, Catcha Digital gained 2.5 sen to 34 sen, and DC Healthcare added half a sen to 12 sen.
Top gainers included Nestle, which rose 20 sen to RM112.20, APM and F&N, both up 14 sen to RM3.40 and RM32.76 respectively, Sarawak Plantation, which gained 10 sen to RM3.15, and Sarawak Oil, up eight sen to RM3.94.
Among the top losers, Aeon Credit and Malayan Cement fell seven sen each to RM5.41 and RM6.28, while Kimlun, Paragon and Master-Pack declined five sen each to RM1.30, RM3.13 and RM2.00, respectively.
On the index board, the FBMT 100 Index advanced 22.72 points to 11,792.83, the FBM Emas Index gained 24.47 points to 12,021.28, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 22.39 points to 12,015.07.
The FBM ACE Index eased 3.41 points to 4,938.18, while the FBM Mid 70 Index climbed 39.27 points to 16,880.30.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index rose 34.84 points to 18,410.84, the Plantation Index gained 11.39 points to 8,248.02, the Energy Index added 0.93 of-a-point to 756.89, and the Industrial Products & Services Index edged up 0.35 of-a -point to 165.28.
-- BERNAMA
