Bursa Malaysia Ends Morning Session Slightly Higher

KUALA LUMPUR, Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session slightly higher today, driven by renewed buying in selected heavyweights, in line with regional market recovery, said an analyst. At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was up a marginal 0.02 of-a-point, or 0.01 per cent, to 1,648.93, against Monday's close of 1,648.91. The benchmark index opened 1.49 points lower at 1,647.42. Across the broader market, advancers led decliners 536 to 357, with 465 counters unchanged, 1,052 untraded and six suspended. Turnover stood at 1.55 billion shares worth RM1.06 billion. Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng anticipates the local benchmark index to over within the 1,645-1655 range today without strong catalysts. 'We noticed foreign funds (were) net sellers (on Monday) and are hopeful that the retail segment has begun to accumulate on stocks of late,' he told Bernama today. Meanwhile, he said Wall Street closed positively overnight with prevailing optimism over more US Federal Reserve rate cuts. 'Nonetheless, market watchers are also waiting for job data this Friday. The DJIA added 17 points while the Nasdaq gained 69 points as the US 10-year yield eased to 3.787 per cent. 'Over in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index maintained its ascension after a week of buying frenzy following PBOC massive easing measures. Sentiment was further buoyed by the easing of property buying restrictions in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen,' he said. Bursa heavyweight counters Maybank and Tenaga Nasional rose 2.0 sen each to RM10.50 and RM14.46, respectively. Public Bank and CIMB were flat at RM4.56 and RM8.05, respectively, while IHH Healthcare slipped 1.0 sen to RM7.15. Among the active counters, DNex added 4.5 sen to 38 sen, 99 Speed Mart and Leong Hup went up 5.0 sen each to RM2.28 and 75 sen, respectively, while Sapura Energy was flat at 3.5 sen. On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 22.67 points to 12,344.58, the FBMT 100 Index improved 13.56 points to 12,035.27 and the FBM 70 Ind ex edged up 69.54 points to 17,468.07. The FBM ACE Index gained 15.62 points to 5,192.90, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 30.67 points to 12,275.79. By sector, the Plantation Index dropped 19.08 points to 7,160.22 and the Financial Services Index perked 2.09 points to 19,291.27. The Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.75 of-a-point to 177.71, and the Energy Index reduced 8.06 points to 838.29. Source: BERNAMA News Agency