Bursa opens higher on bargain-hunting momentum

KUALA LUMPUR (March 25): Bursa Malaysia opened higher today on continued bargain-hunting momentum, albeit in a more muted manner.

At 9.13am, the benchmark FBM KLCI had gained 2.07 points to 1,604.47 after breaching the 1,600 level at 1,602.40 points yesterday.

The index was 5.46 points better at 1,607.86 at 9am.

On the broader market, losers led gainers 214 to 256, while 361 counters were unchanged, 1,401 untraded and 22 others suspended.

Total volume stood at 736.31 million shares worth RM318.14 million.

Rakuten Trade said the key index is expected to trend higher today, although it would be within a narrow range of 1,595 to 1,605.

“Globally, sentiments on Wall Street remained jittery as all three major indices slumped following strong earlier sessions.

“Despite a lower 10-year Treasury yield, the sell-off of tech stocks was unrelenting as Nasdaq lost 2%, while the DJI Average declined three points. As such, we reckon regional markets will continue with their consolidation amid heightened volatility today,” it said in a note.

Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) and Public Bank Bhd advanced one sen each to RM8.25 and RM4.19 respectively, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PetChem) added five sen to RM8.12, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) erased two sen to RM10.80, IHH Healthcare Bhd declined one sen to RM5.33 and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd was three sen easier at RM4.47.

As for the active counters, Berjaya Corp Bhd (BCorp), the most active this morning, added 3.5 sen to 32.5 sen, Dagang NeXchange Bhd (DNeX) and its warrant rose 1.5 sen each to 99.5 sen and 35.5 sen respectively, while Yong Tai Bhd and PDZ Holdings Bhd were flat at 27 sen and 5.5 sen respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index earned 14.10 points to 11,767.89, the FBMT 100 added 10.40 points to 11,439.85 and the FBM Emas Shariah edged up 10.20 points to 13,075.54.

The FBM ACE was 14.65 points better at 10,453.52 but the FBM 70 lost 2.85 points to 15,444.51.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index increased 42.10 points to 15,308.87, the Industrial Products and Services Index improved 0.82 of a point to 191.94 and the Plantation Index eked up 18.51 points to 7,181.56.

Source: TheEdgeMarkets