BURSA MALAYSIA OPENS LOWER, BUT TURNS FIRMER IN EARLY TRADE

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened lower on Friday but turned slightly higher in early trade, supported by bargain hunting in selected heavyweight stocks, particularly in the industrial products and services as well as utilities sectors.

At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was firmer by 0.99 of a point to 1,608.99 from Thursday’s close of 1,608.0, after opening 0.97 of a point weaker at 1,607.03.

The market breadth was positive, with gainers leading decliners 250 to 96, while 270 counters were unchanged, 2,080 untraded and 12 suspended.

Turnover stood at 210.31 million shares worth RM98.94 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng noted that Wall Street ended higher overnight as sentiment turned positive following the confirmation that US President Donald Trump will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping next Thursday, in addition to a solid earnings reporting season so far.

“We believe the market undertone received a boost after China confirmed that a meeting has been scheduled with the United States in Malaysia.

“We believe sentiment should be bolstered from such upbeat developments, hence expect the index to react positively and hover between the 1,610-1,620 range today,” he said in reference to a separate trade meeting between the two sides before the Trump-Xi meet in South Korea.

Among the heavyweights, Hong Leong Bank added 14 sen to RM20.72, and Petronas Chemicals gained five sen to RM4.01, while Petronas Gas and Maxis were flat at RM18.54 and RM3.80, respectively. QL Resources dipped one sen to RM4.30.

In active trading, Perak Transit rose two sen to 35 sen, while MMAG was one sen firmer at 11 sen, and G3 Global and Ingenieur were flat at two sen and three sen, respectively. THMY dipped half a sen to 90.5 sen.

Top gainers included Malaysian Pacific, which bounced 50 sen to RM30.20, while Vitrox added 20 sen to RM4.72, and Pentamaster gained 11 sen to RM4.16. Malayan Cement advanced 10 sen to RM6.59.

Among the top losers, Nestle dropped 60 sen to RM107.40, and Kuala Lumpur Kepong fell 26 sen to RM20.28, while PPB and Telekom Malaysia went down 10 sen each to RM11.0 and RM7.31, respectively.

On the index board, the FBMT 100 Index strengthened 18.78 points to 11,785.71, the FBM Emas Shariah Index widened 16.86 points to 12,131.11, and the FBM Emas Index expanded 20.30 points to 12,051.33.

The FBM ACE Index grew 35.08 points to 5,280.48, and the FBM Mid 70 Index gained 77.49 points to 17,203.30.

By sector, the Financial Services Index garnered 43.74 points to 18,1889.0, the Energy Index firmed 4.20 points to 789.94, and the Industrial Products and Services Index rose 0.59 of a point to 171.88. The Plantation Index declined 48.20 points to 7,869.55.

-- BERNAMA