KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened on a higher note today, in line with positive development of global stocks on better economic forecast.
As at 9.17am, the benchmark index FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 6.75 points higher at 1,585.14 compared with yesterday’s close of 1,578.39.
The market opened 3.92 points higher at 1,582.31.
Gainers surpassed losers 426 to 210, while 1049 counters were unchanged, 491 untraded and 24 others suspended.
Total volume stood at 1.45 billion worth RM452.15 million.
An analyst said the overnight gains in the US stocks led other Asian stocks higher as well.
“The good times for equities are back as a political shift in the US has subsided as president-elect Joe Biden has made his Treasury Department’s nomination of (economist) Janet Yellen to the post (for treasury secretary) which indicates his policy preferences,“ she said.
Bloomberg reported that global equity rally picked up steam on Wednesday after US stocks climbed to fresh records, with cash continuing to flow into cyclical sectors.
“Asian shares opened with gains and futures on the S&P 500 Index pushed higher after the index closed at an all-time high and the Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 30,000 for the first time,“ it said.
On Malaysian counters, cyclical stocks, which revolved around consumer, financial, as well as real estate, have shown upward momentum as well.
On Bursa Malaysia, heavyweights Public Bank added 30 sen to RM18.68, Telekom Malaysia rose 18 sen to RM4.78, Maybank inched up five sen to RM8.18, and Press Metal added 10 sen to RM6.20.
Among the actives, Sapura Energy added one sen to 12.5 sen, AT Systematization and Mtouche added 1.5 sen to 17 sen and 8.5 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 58.41 points higher at 11,383.86, the FBMT 100 Index improved 53.93 points to 11,169.62, the FBM Emas Shariah Index jumped 38.59 points to 13,051.85, and the FBM 70 surged 95.18 points to 14,596.01.
The FBM ACE climbed 54.89 points to 10,535.02, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 0.31 of-a-point to 157.99, the Plantation Index added 8.0 points to 7,276.33, and the Financial Services Index gained 127.43 points to 14,097.84.-Bernama
