KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia remained broadly higher at midday, boosted by selected heavyweights led by MISC and Petronas Chemicals.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) advanced 22.88 points or 1.6% to 1,453.35, from Tuesday’s close of 1,430.47.
At the opening bell, the FBM KLCI opened 0.88 points better at 1,431.35 and moved between 1,428.59 and 1,454.0 throughout the morning session.
Market breadth was positive as gainers thumped losers 565 to 231, with 318 counters unchanged, 892 untraded and 17 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 2.48 billion shares worth RM1.29 bil.
MISC surged 59 sen to RM7.61 and Petronas Chemicals soared 28 sen to RM4.63.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the recovery was merely seen as bargain hunting activities from the recent downward sentiment.
“As markets condition appears to lookout for stability, we think that the investors may continue their quest on nibbling beaten-down stocks. However, we remain cautious on the potential rebound over a longer period as market sentiment is still choppy at the current stage,” it said in a note today.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank rose four sen to RM8.41, TNB jumped 18 sen to RM12.68, IHH Healthcare gained three sen to RM5.62, CIMB went up 14 sen to RM4.49, Axiata added one sen to RM 4 and Public Bank fell two sen to RM16.88.
Of the actives, Sapura Energy, Velesto Energy and Bumi Armada increased one sen to 12 sen, 18 sen and 18.5 sen, respectively, while Hibiscus Petroleum rose 3.5 sen to 47 sen, Perdana Petroleum inched up half-a-sen to 17.5 sen, Dayang Enterprise soared 10 sen to RM1.42 and Vortex was flat at seven sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index advanced 162.15 points to 10,148.29, the FBM Emas Shariah Index expanded by 237.15 points to 10,779.54 and the FBM 70 improved 206.59 to 12,144.54.
The FBMT 100 Index was 160.41 points higher at 10,009.05 and the FBM Ace depreciated 23.90 points to 4,757.95.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 3.31 points to 123.47, the Financial Services Index increased 39.62 points to 14,006.9 and the Plantation Index was 138.17 points higher at 6,447.78. – March 11, 2020, Bernama
