KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia and most of the regional markets were in positive territory at mid-afternoon as investors contemplated the prospects of an economic recovery once the Covid-19 pandemic eases.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.15% to 24,245.51, Singapore’s Straits Times Index added 1.36% to 12,574.54 but Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.4% to 19,345.77.
The local bourse was also lifted by the expectation of a global crude oil production cut.
At 3.07pm, key index FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) added 9.20 points, or 0.67%, to 1,370.59 from 1,361.39 at Wednesday’s close.
The key index opened 7.5 points stronger at 1,368.89.
Market breadth remained positive with gainers surpassing losers 608 to 206, while 345 counters were unchanged, 760 untraded and 20 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 3.22 billion shares worth RM1.33 bil.
Of the heavyweights, PChem led the gains, adding 11 sen to RM4.89, Axiata rose eight sen to RM3.63, Hartalega added 21 sen to RM3.27 and Tenaga was 10 sen higher at RM12.04.
Altogether, these counters lifted the composite index by 5.24 points.
Among the active stocks, Sapura Energy inched up half-a-sen to 11 sen, Bumi Armada gained 10 sen to 18.5 sen while DGB improved half-a-sen to three sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index advanced 76.36 points to 9,487.63, the FBM Emas Shariah Index surged 100.43 points to 10,422.89 and the FBMT 100 Index was 70.04 points higher at 9,376.75.
The FBM 70 grew 112.66 points to 11,113.15 and the FBM Ace increased 85.29 points to 4,170.96.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 1.83 points to 111.05, the Financial Services Index soared 93.80 points to 12,492.27 and the Plantation Index was 42.21 points better at 6,217.97. – April 9, 2020, Bernama
