KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 13): Bursa Malaysia has maintained its uptrend at midday, bolstered by the banking counters as sentiments were boosted by the further resumption of economic activities.
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At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) added 8.76 points to 1,592.67 compared with 1,583.91 at Tuesday’s close.
The bellwether index opened 1.04 points lower at 1,582.87 and moved between 1,581.81 and 1,593.16 throughout the morning session.
Market breadth was positive as gainers outnumbered decliners 487 to 420, while 400 counters were unchanged, 972 untraded and 18 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 2.54 billion units worth RM1.64 billion.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd said it expects to see intermittent profit-taking activities, however, judging by the healthy improvements in daily volume, the local bourse may enjoy further upside and hit a more meaningful resistance at the 1,600 mark.
Regionally, leads were positive with most markets in the green.
An analyst told Bernama that investors seem to disregard the inflation and interest rate worries in the United States, preferring to take their cue from the bullish oil and crude palm oil markets.
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He said domestic-related stocks have been benefiting from these positive developments, and the uptrend is expected to continue in the near term alongside other economic recovery-themed sectors following the reopening of travel borders.
Heavyweights Malayan Banking Bhd rose six sen to RM8.29, MISC Bhd was 15 sen higher at RM7.05, Public Bank Bhd increased four sen to RM4.20, Hartalega Holdings Bhd advanced eight sen to RM6.05, RHB Bank Bhd added nine sen to RM5.64 and Sime Darby Bhd expanded eight sen to RM2.36.
As for the active counters, Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd and Sarawak Consolidated Industries Bhd were flat at 41.5 sen and 50.5 sen, respectively, while Brahim’s Holdings Bhd was 4.5 sen higher at 56 sen and NWP Holdings Bhd expanded half-a-sen to 29.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was higher by 46.69 points at 11,699.34, the FBMT 100 Index edged up 51.05 points to 11,344.16, the FBM Emas Shariah Index recovered 25.43 points to 12,773.74, and the FBM 70 was 24.09 points better at 15,271.06.
Meanwhile, the FBM ACE declined 25.8 points to 7,164.38.
Sector wise, the Financial Services Index bagged 129.91 points to 15,672.71, the Industrial Products and Services Index shed 0.12 of-a-point to 211.13, and the Plantation Index improved 18.79 points to 7,022.9.-BERNAMA