BURSA MALAYSIA OPENS HIGHER, TRACKING WALL STREET GAINS OVERNIGHT

By Durratul Ain Ahmad Fuad

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 22 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia opened higher today, tracking the better overnight performance on Wall Street bolstered by Nvidia’s strong earnings.

At 9.11 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.00 points to 1,591.68, from yesterday’s close of 1,588.68.   The benchmark index started the day 4.36 points higher at 1,593.04.  

The broader market was positive, with gainers leading decliners 205 to 153, while 292 counters were unchanged, 1,815 untraded, and 23 suspended.

Turnover stood at 182.24 million units valued at RM107.95 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said trading has remained volatile as investors processed the latest US economic data, which showed a surprising dip in initial jobless claims.

“The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 462 points, or 1.1 per cent, to close at 35,021. The S&P 500 advanced 0.5 per cent, while the Nasdaq managed a slight gain of under 0.1 per cent.

“Over in Hong Kong, stocks closed lower as some corporations reported earnings that fell short of market expectations, triggering a sell-off in affected stocks and causing the Hang Seng Index to fall 0.53 per cent,” he told Bernama. 

Back home, he said the FBM KLCI continues to consolidate, showing little sign of a strong rebound due to subdued buying interest and cautious trading.

“The benchmark index faces persistent selling pressure, with key support at 1,585. A breach of this level could trigger further declines.

“That said, the FBM KLCI is trading in the oversold region, presenting an opportunity for investors to accumulate blue chip stocks that have experienced significant declines in recent sessions due to their attractive valuations,” he added.  Therefore, Thong expects the benchmark index to move within the range of 1,585-1,610 today. 

Among the heavyweights, CIMB added 4.0 sen to RM8.25, Public Bank rose 2.0 sen to RM4.42 and Tenaga Nasional gained 14 sen to RM13.94. IHH Healthcare increased 6.0 sen to RM7.23 but Maybank slid 4.0 sen to RM10.16. 

As for the active stocks, Globetronics Technology advanced 3.5 sen to 54.5 sen, Sik Cheong gained 1.0 sen to 23 sen and MY E.G. Services added 2.0 sen to 93 sen. Aizo inched down half-a-sen to 13.5 sen while Sanichi Technology was flat at 1.5 sen.  

On the index board, the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 29.44 points to 12,100.33, the FBM Emas Index garnered 25.18 points to 12,112.79 and the FBMT 100 Index added 25.18 points to 11,816.40.

The FBM 70 Index topped up 48.66 points to 17,892.32 but the FBM ACE Index was down by 1.12 points to 5,196.82.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index increased by 20.69 points to 19,051.82, the Energy Index edged up 0.03 points to 826.13 and the Plantation Index expanded 21.09 points to 7,587.47.

However, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.28 of a point lower at 171.73.  

-- BERNAMA