KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened higher on Monday, taking cues from gains on Wall Street on Friday.
At 9.09 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) edged up 0.21 of a point to 1,735.96 from Friday’s close of 1,735.75.
The benchmark index opened 0.10 of a point higher at 1,735.85.
On the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 257 to 111, while 355 counters were unchanged, 2,050 untraded and 21 suspended.
Turnover stood at 227.41 million shares valued at RM105.87 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street ended higher, following an unexpected decline in US employment in July.
He said the weaker-than-expected employment data strengthened market expectations that the US Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged for the time being.
“Back home, while external uncertainties remain, amid geopolitical developments and firm oil prices, bargain hunting should help limit downside pressure.
“We expect the benchmark index to trend within the 1,730–1,740 range today while maintaining a positive bias,” he told Bernama.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank and Tenaga Nasional gained four sen each to RM10.72 and RM14.40, respectively, while IHH Healthcare improved seven sen to RM8.37, CIMB Group stood at RM7.94, while Public Bank was three sen lower to RM5.16.
Among active stocks, Dagang NeXchange added 2.5 sen to 49.5 sen, HHRG edged up 1.5 sen to 13.5 sen, Nationgate Holdings increased nine sen to RM1.52, Perak Transit put on 1.5 sen to 23 sen and VS Industry was half a sen higher to 24.5 sen.
Allianz Malaysia led the gainers, rising 96 sen to RM22.48, UWC firmed 15 sen to RM6.70, Kobay Technology perked 12 sen to RM2.58, Pentamaster Corporation went up eight sen to RM5.55, Greatech Technology expanded seven sen to RM2.63 and CPE Technology climbed six sen to RM1.19.
As for the top losers, Kuala Lumpur Kepong declined RM1.16 to RM21.74, Kim Hin Industry shed 7.5 sen to 85 sen, Kelington and Telekom Malaysia lost five sen each to RM8.73 and RM7.90, respectively, while YTL Power International fell four sen to RM4.65.
Among the broader indices, the FBM Emas Index grew 11.92 points to 12,846.17, the FBM Top 100 Index garnered 9.10 points to 12,669.30, and the FBM ACE Index rose 14.60 points to 5,094.55.
The FBM Mid 70 Index surged 45.54 points to 18,272.06, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index ticked up 22.15 points to 12,685.39.
By sector, the Financial Services Index was 1.20 points higher at 20,417.73, the Energy Index went up 1.58 points to 759.97, and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.47 of a point to 188.47, but the Plantation Index fell 75.20 points to 9,465.88. – BERNAMA
