KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia extended its earlier gains on consistent buying, particularly in the energy-linked counters, amid the rise in crude oil prices.
Reuters reported that crude oil prices surged by 3% today following news that the US military had killed a top Iranian general, fanning fresh fears of a conflict in the oil-rich region.
At 3.05pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) stood at 1,606.42, increasing 3.92 points from Thursday’s close of 1,602.50.
The market barometer opened 3.81 firmer at 1,606.31 this morning.
Market breadth was positive, with gainers outweighing losers 484 to 391, while 377 counters remained unchanged, 693 untraded and 23 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 2.69 billion shares worth RM1.45 bil.
Among the 30 FBM KLCI counters, IOI Corp gained eight sen to RM4.73, MISC added 11 sen to RM8.51, Maxis bagged six sen to RM5.45, Petronas Gas accumulated 20 sen to RM17.16 and IHH was four sen firmer at RM5.61.
The top 10 actives were dominated by energy-related counters, led by Sapura Energy which inched up half-a-sen to 28 sen.
Others included Hibiscus and its warrant, which rose four sen and six sen to RM1.01 and 26.5 sen respectively, while Velesto perked half-a-sen to 39 sen and KNM was flat at 35.5 sen.
Top gainer Carlsberg expanded 74 sen to RM30.42 while top loser Dutch Lady fell 16 sen to RM49.14.
The FBM Emas Index strengthened 32.65 points to 11,445.31 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 51.84 points higher at 12,068.42.
The FBMT 100 Index elevated 33.35 points to 11,233.47, the FBM 70 jumped 66.8 points to 14,339.79 and the FBM Ace accumulated 21.71 points to 5,403.72.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index improved 19.94 points to 15,640.4, the Plantation Index advanced 37.74 points to 7,816.81 but the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.03 of-a-point to 155.2. – Jan 3, 2020, Bernama
