Bursa Malaysia opens higher

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened higher this morning, after a pullback on profit-taking from yesterday and despite the weaker performance of regional bourses.
At 9.05 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) traded at 1,883.36, up three points from Monday's 1,880.36.
The index opened 3.39 points higher at 1,883.75.
On the broader market, gainers led losers 116 against 100, while 137 counters were unchanged, 1,914 untraded and 28 others suspended.
Volume stood at 97.88 million units valued at RM43.95 million.
Maybank IB Research said the FBM KLCI could remain choppy in the near-term as investors switch into risk-off mode ahead of the US Gross Domestic Product and jobless claims.
"Oil and gas stocks, however, could hog the limelight after Brent crude oil hit a new high year-to-date.
"Technically, we expect the FBM KLCI to trade between 1,870 and 1,890 today. Downside supports have been adjusted to 1,873 and 1,857," it added
Among heavyweights, Maybank rose eight sen to RM10.70, Public Bank bagged two sen to RM24.32, Tenaga and Petronas Chemicals improved six sen each to RM15.94 and RM8.52 respectively, and CIMB gained one sen to RM7.25.
For actives, Sapura Energy added three sen to 75 sen, MQ technology edged up half-a-sen to 6.5 sen, Priceworth International improved two sen to 20.5 sen, while Borneo Oil and Tiger Synergy were flat at eight sen and 2.5 sen respectively.
The FBMT 100 Index rose 19.92 points to 12,917.03, the FBM Emas Syariah Index gained 7.96 points to 13,254.0 and the FBM Emas Index was 21.62 points higher at 13,101.28
The FBM 70 added 21.59 points to 15,447.40 and the FBM Ace grabbed 19.34 points for 5,317.97.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Index increased 22.67 points to 3,275.90 and the Plantation Index improved 26.27 points to 8,029.87 and the Finance Index surged 54.95 points to 18,464.93.
The physical price of gold as at 9.30am stood at RM160.83 per gramme, down 20 sen from RM161.03 at 5.00pm yesterday. — Bernama