Muristek
At 12.30pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 5.44 points to 1,595.42 from yesterday’s close of 1,589.98. — Reuters pic
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KUALA LUMPUR, April 26 ― Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session higher, buoyed by continued buying interest in selected heavyweights led by Petronas Chemicals and in line with the positive sentiment in regional bourses.
At 12.30pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 5.44 points to 1,595.42 from yesterday’s close of 1,589.98.
The index opened 9.74 points firmer at 1,599.72 and moved between 1,594.49 and 1,602.69 throughout the morning session.
Market breadth was positive with gainers surpassing decliners 509 to 307, while 390 counters were unchanged, 1,084 untraded and 27 others suspended.
Total turnover stood at 1.23 billion units worth RM800.61 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said sentiments were expected to remain cautious in view of the wild movements on Wall Street coupled with new Covid-19 lockdowns in China; hence the index would possibly trend within the 1,580-1,595 range for the rest of the day.
“Meanwhile, crude prices also fell on fears over the lockdowns in China, with Brent crude dipping to US$102 (RM443.60) per barrel,” he said.
Among the Bursa heavyweights, Maybank gained three sen to RM8.92, Petronas Chemicals added 14 sen to RM10.26, IHH Healthcare increased nine sen to RM6.65, CIMB and Tenaga Nasional inched up four sen each to RM5.20 and RM8.92, respectively, and Public Bank lost one sen to RM4.70.
Of the actives, Yong Tai and Techna-X were flat at 10.5 sen and 11 sen, respectively, while MNC Wireless, Permaju, Bintai Kinden, and Widad rose half-a-sen each to 3.5 sen, nine sen, 13.5 sen and 36 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBMT 100 Index gained 52.06 points to 11,073.71, the FBM Emas Index was 52.96 points higher at 11,418.56, the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 63.85 points to 12,005.93, the FBM 70 improved 122.57 points to 13,665.63, and the FBM ACE increased 53.47 points to 5,636.38.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.21 of-a-point to 210.33 and the Financial Services Index advanced 48.93 points to 16,791.49, but the Plantation Index slid 59.14 points to 8,788.44. ― Bernama