KL shares open higher

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia rebounded at the opening today as buying interests emerged following three straight days of losses, dealers said.
At 9.15am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) stood at 1,775.45, up 1.87 points against yesterday’s close of 1,773.58.
Earlier, the benchmark index opened 1.87 points higher at 1,775.45.
On the broader market, gainers led losers by 154 to 144 with 235 counters unchanged, 1,306 untraded and 23 others were suspended.
Turnover stood at 457.32 million shares worth RM205.76 million.
A dealer said market sentiment further improved on news the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its partners were considering extending or deepening output cuts ahead of the meeting between OPEC and non-OPEC nations tomorrow.
Brent crude futures rose to a five-month high of US$56.48 (US$1 = RM4.19) a barrel today.
On the scoreboard, the FBM Emas Index was 16.79 points higher at 12,660.91, FBMT 100 Index increased 16.99 points to 12,311.67, the FBM Emas Syariah Index jumped 31.34 points to 12,876.67 and the FBM 70 perked 36.17 points to 15,149.99.
The FBM Ace, however, eased by 11.63 points to 6,665.99.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Index increased 5.78 points to 3,238.14, Plantation Index eased 6.01 points to 7,919.33 and the Finance Index fell 13.932 points to 16,728.45.
Among heavyweights, Maybank eased one sen to RM9.48 and Public Bank lost two sen to RM20.58.
Sime Darby gained seven sen to RM9.20. TNB and Petronas Chemiclas were flat at RM14.50 and RM7.29 respectively.
Among actives, Hibiscus advanced three sen to 68 sen and UMW O&G perked 2.5 sen to 37.5 sen.
Hubline and KNM earned half-a-sen each to eight sen and 29 sen respectively while Daya Materials were flat at 8.5 sen.
Gold futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives was lower in the early trade with two contract months traded.
September 2017 and October 2017 each fell 24 ticks to RM176.20 and RM175.80 per gramme, respectively.
November 2017 and December 2017 remained pegged at RM177.20 and RM177.20 per gramme, respectively.
Turnover stood at two lots while open interest amounted to 145 contracts.
At 9.30am, physical gold was down by RM1.24 to RM169.90 per gramme. — Bernama