BURSA Malaysia ended the morning session higher in line with most regional markets following a phased easing of lockdowns due to Covid-19 as well as an overnight rally on Wall Street.
At 12.30pm, key index FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) advanced 10.17 points to 1,386.76 from Monday’s close of 1,376.59, after opening 2.16 points higher at 1,378.75.
It moved between 1,378.75 and 1,391.31 in the morning session.
Market breadth was positive as gainers surpassed losers 609 to 199, while 325 counters were unchanged, 743 untraded and 17 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 3.20 billion shares worth RM1.37 bil.
The market is also monitoring the outcome of the monetary policy meeting at 3pm today.
“The market expects a reduction of the overnight policy rate at the meeting today,” said a dealer.
On heavyweight counters, Petronas Chemical jumped 14 sen to RM5.54, Public Bank soared 22 sen to RM16.08, Maybank and Axiata added six sen each to RM7.44 and RM3.85, respectively, while Digi gained five sen to RM4.57 and Press Metal increased nine sen to RM3.95.
As for the actives, Ageson rose 2.5 sen to 18.5 sen, Velesto added one sen to 15.5 sen, Hubline and Xidelang both edged up half-a-sen to 5.5 sen and seven sen, respectively, Hibiscus Petroleum advanced two sen to 51 sen, and MCT improved 1.5 sen to 22 sen.
Singapore’s Straits Times Index appreciated 0.78% to 2.583.61, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index went up 0.54% to 23,742.13 and Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite Index rose 0.25% to 4.617.19.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 86.17 points higher at 9,725.58, the FBMT 100 Index increased 79.11 points to 9,586.39, the FBM Emas Shariah Index bagged 97.92 points to 10,818.17, the FBM ACE advanced 75.23 points to 4,852.22 while the FBM 70 soared 133.27 points to 11,772.74.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index was 96.43 points to 12,325.84, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 2.15 points to at 120.43 and the Plantation Index added 19.87 points to 6,243.58. — May 5, 2020, Bernama
