KLCI opens higher on economic outlook optimism

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 26): Bursa Malaysia rebounded from yesterday’s losses to open higher today, in line with most Asian markets, supported by growing optimism about a bullish economic outlook, dealers said.

At 9.15am, the benchmark FBM KLCI had risen 18.76 points to 1,595.38 from 1,576.62 at yesterday’s close.

The index opened 13.97 points higher at 1,590.59.

On the broader market, gainers led losers 455 to 156, while 301 counters were unchanged, 1,231 untraded and 17 others suspended.

Total volume stood at 764.2 million units worth RM445.7 million.

Malacca Securities said the selling on the KLCI yesterday could have been overdone as health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah brushed off concerns over MCO 3.0 (a third movement control order) and the broader market could perform a relief rebound today.

“On glove-related stocks, we believe Hartalega [Holdings Bhd]’s upbeat results could spill over to buying support for glove manufacturers and glove proxies today.

“However, investors could stay cautious ahead of the release of Malaysia’s Producer Price Index (PPI) tomorrow. As foreign funds turned into selling mode, we expect the rebound might be faced with profit-taking activities in the near term,” it said in a research note today.

Among the heavyweights, Public Bank Bhd added 21 sen to RM4.47, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) gained eight sen to RM7.96, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PetChem) advanced two sen to RM6.92, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) increased 13 sen to RM9.78, while Top Glove Corp Bhd slipped six sen to RM6.46.

Of the actives, Fintec Global Bhd earned half a sen to eight sen, Key Asic Bhd and QES Group Bhd improved two sen to 11 sen and 38.5 sen respectively, while Dagang NeXchange Bhd (DNeX) was flat at 30 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index went up 125.19 points to 11,515.74, the FBMT 100 Index jumped 123.59 points to 11,258.59, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 66.58 points higher at 12,959.16.

The FBM 70 surged 126.52 points to 14,750.74 and the FBM ACE increased 111.32 points to 10,781.57.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index soared 274.76 points to 14,839.50, the Plantation Index perked 31.31 points to 7,215.77 and the Industrial Products and Services Index earned 0.88 of a point to 171.68.

Source: TheEdgeMarkets