BURSA MALAYSIA OPENS HIGHER ON CONTINUOUS BUYING INTEREST

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 14 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened higher today, buoyed by continued buying interest amid Wall Street’s mixed performance overnight after the United States (US) inflation data came in within expectations.

At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 2.04 points to 1,613.54 from yesterday’s close of 1,611.50.

The benchmark index began the day 3.39 points higher at 1,614.89.

Across the broader market, gainers led losers 189 to 136, with 283 counters unchanged, 1,846 untraded, and 21 suspended.

Turnover was 168.88 million shares, valued at RM111.59 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the US inflation data came in within expectations, with the consumer price index (CPI) and core CPI rising to 2.6 per cent and 3.3 per cent year-on-year, respectively.

“As a result, Wall Street closed on a mixed note with the Dow Jones Industrial Average advancing, while both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite ended flat,” it said in a note today.

The stockbroking firm said given the strong dollar environment, it maintains a positive outlook on the technology and gloves sectors for today.

“We also favour stocks within the industrial engineering industry and artificial intelligence-driven sectors, while selected construction, property, and building materials stocks are expected to post stronger earnings, supported by ongoing data centre investments,” it added.

Among the heavyweights, CIMB Group gained nine sen to RM8.29 and IHH Healthcare increased three sen, while Maybank and Public Bank were flat each at RM10.42 and RM4.47, respectively, and Tenaga Nasional slid 10 sen to RM14.30.

As for the active stocks,  Life Water garnered five sen to 99 sen, Mpire Global expanded half-a-sen to 21.5 sen, Johor Plantations accumulated three sen to RM1.28 and Bumi Armada bagged 1.5 sen to 51 sen, while Aizo Group was flat at 15 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Shariah Index firmed 14.30 points to 12,178.82, the FBM Emas Index rose 20.33 points to 12,226.04, the FBMT 100 Index expanded 20.77 points to 11,931.61, the FBM 70 Index improved 52.14 points to 17,894.41, and the FBM ACE Index climbed 1.43 points to 5,143.04.

Sector-wise, the Energy Index surged 12.04 points to 833.60, the Plantation Index perked up 8.87 points to 7,729.03, the Financial Services Index put on 33.03 points to 19,224.65, and the Industrial Products and Services Index strengthened 0.46 of-a-point to 169.70.

-- BERNAMA