KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 26 -- Bursa Malaysia opened higher on Monday, extending gains from last week, as foreign funds continued to snap up local shares, reflecting sustained external confidence in the Malaysian market.
At 9.53 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 7.24 points to 1,727.23 from last Friday’s close of 1,719.99. The index surpassed its previous peak of 1,721.42 recorded on Feb 22, 2019.
In the broader market, decliners outnumbered gainers 369 to 337. Some 463 counters were unchanged, while 1,559 were untraded and 39 suspended.
Turnover totalled 662.08 million shares valued at RM401.86 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said further strengthening of the ringgit against the US dollar has lifted investor sentiments.
At the opening today, the local note opened firmer at 3.9850/9950 against the greenback from 4.0045/0080 recorded last Friday, hovering near its strongest level in more than seven years following a boost in risk appetite after Bank Negara Malaysia’s decision to maintain the overnight policy rate amid a weaker US dollar index. The local note last traded at a similar level on May 24, 2018, when it touched RM3.9797 against the greenback.
"As such, we expect the index to hover within the 1,720-1,735 range today," Thong told Bernama.
He noted that Wall Street closed on a mixed note on Friday as traders appeared apprehensive of US President Donald Trump’s purported framework on Greenland despite an easing tariff stance on European Union countries that were opposed to the Greenland takeover.
Meanwhile, the US 10-year yield dipped slightly to 4.231 per cent.
Among heavyweight stocks, Maybank rose six sen to RM11.42, while Public Bank and IHH Healthcare edged up one sen each to RM4.79 and RM8.61, respectively. CIMB gained nine sen to RM8.39 and Tenaga Nasional added eight sen to RM13.88.
On the most active list, Capital A added two sen to 56.5 sen, AirAsia X jumped 14 sen to RM1.98, Eco-Shop Marketing gained three sen to RM1.60 and Tanco topped up one sen to RM1.31.
Top gainers included Nestle (M), which added 70 sen to RM115.90, while Hong Leong Financial jumped 38 sen to RM21.42, and Hong Leong Bank grew 22 sen to RM24.22. Petronas Dagangan advanced 18 sen to RM21.20.
Leading decliners were Malaysian Pacific Industries, which went down 52 sen to RM32.60, while UWC was 20 sen lower at RM4.05, and Vitrox fell 12 sen to RM4.43. Malayan Cement lost 11 sen to RM7.72.
On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index advanced 47.97 points to 12,708.51, the FBM Top 100 Index firmed up 50.77 points to 12,506.57, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index expanded 39.34 points to 12,348.99.
The FBM Mid 70 Index gained 64.21 points to 17,626.44, but the FBM ACE Index declined 49.78 points to 4,855.27.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index surged 124.58 points to 20,927.75, the Energy Index inched up 0.16 of-a-point to 769.54 and the Plantation Index grew 23.33 points to 8,393.10.
The Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.06 of-a-point to 176.43.
-- BERNAMA
BERNAMA provides up-to-date authentic and comprehensive news and information which are disseminated via BERNAMA Wires; www.bernama.com; BERNAMA TV on Astro 502, unifi TV 631 and MYTV 121 channels and BERNAMA Radio on FM93.9 (Klang Valley), FM107.5 (Johor Bahru), FM107.9 (Kota Kinabalu) and FM100.9 (Kuching) frequencies.
Follow us on social media :
Facebook : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatv, @bernamaradio
Twitter : @bernama.com, @BernamaTV, @bernamaradio
Instagram : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatvofficial, @bernamaradioofficial
TikTok : @bernamaofficial
