KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 19): Bursa Malaysia rebounded from Thursday’s losses to open slightly higher on Friday (Aug 19), on renewed buying interest in selected heavyweights, amid cautious sentiments in regional markets, dealers said.
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At 9.17am, the benchmark FBM KLCI had risen by 0.22 of a point to 1,516.84, from 1,516.62 at Thursday’s close.
The benchmark index opened 0.20 of a point better at 1,516.82.
On the broader market, gainers led decliners at 200 versus 150, while 241 counters were unchanged, 1,719 untraded, and 17 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 191.51 million units worth RM121.12 million.
As US markets are still looking for direction, the local bourse might take a breather on Friday, amid softer inflows of foreign funds, said Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd.
“Investors will be focusing on the ongoing [financial results] reporting season to position themselves in the stock market,” it said in a note on Friday.
The brokerage also noted that crude oil prices had surged above the US$96 (RM430.08) per barrel mark, while crude palm oil was traded above RM4,000 per tonne.
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“We opine that the positive momentum in the energy sector should be sustained, as crude oil prices are showing an uptick, and selected oil and gas companies have released decent results.
“Besides, sectors such as banking, consumer and real estate investment trusts should stay attractive throughout the earnings [reporting] season,” it said.
Among the heavyweights, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd added 10 sen to RM8.85, IHH Healthcare Bhd gained one sen to RM6.52 and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd too gained one sen to RM5.48, while Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) slipped four sen to RM8.91 and Public Bank Bhd fell one sen to RM4.64.
Of the actives, Agmo Holdings Bhd rose 4.5 sen to 83 sen, Cnergenz Bhd earned half a sen to 91.5 sen and JAKS Resources Bhd advanced 1.5 sen to 29 sen, while Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd was flat at 9.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 0.15 of a point higher at 10,730.18, the FBMT 100 Index perked 5.48 points to 10,482.92, the FBM Emas Shariah Index went up 6.43 points to 10,877.39 and the FBM 70 improved 22.63 points to 12,754.91, while the FBM ACE decreased 23.08 points to 4,949.07.
The Financial Services Index shed 27.95 points to 16,791.39, while the Plantation Index added 2.28 points to 7,291.23, the Energy Index gained 6.10 points to 673.63, and the Industrial Products and Services Index earned 0.61 of a point to 183.64.-BERNAMA