KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 4): Bursa Malaysia opened lower on Wednesday (Jan 4), but turned slightly higher soon after on improved buying appetite.
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At 9.29am, the benchmark FBM KLCI had added 0.45 of a point to 1,474.44, from Tuesday’s closing at 1,473.99.
The market bellwether opened 1.14 points lower at 1,472.85.
On the broader market, gainers edged losers 225 to 201, while 275 counters were unchanged, 1,513 untraded, and 13 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 500.95 million units worth RM185.38 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the pullback in the local bourse on Tuesday could be deemed as a healthy pullback, and bargain-hunting activities should pick up for undervalued stocks, although worries over the Covid-19 sub-variants may continue to weigh on investor sentiment.
“Still, we believe the reopening of China’s travel borders may provide decent growth for most of the global economies, with another round of pent-up demand,” it said in a note on Tuesday.
The brokerage firm noted that it maintained its positive stance on the oil and gas and plantation sectors, as the underlying commodity prices remained firm and should lift the sectors.
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“Besides, the tourism sector may see a turnaround, with travelling activities picking up amid the reopening of China’s borders. Meanwhile, the healthcare sector could see some trading interest on anxiety over the Covid-19 variants,” said Malacca Securities.
Among the heavyweights, Public Bank Bhd gained three sen to RM4.31 a share, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd rose four sen to RM5.74, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) was one sen higher at RM9.31, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) eased three sen to RM8.68, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd trimmed 13 sen to RM8.47, and IHH Healthcare Bhd shed one sen to RM6.
As for the actives, Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd edged up half a sen to 22.5 sen, L&P Global Bhd increased three sen to 57.5 sen, Cypark Resources Bhd advanced two sen to 54 sen, Lion Industries Corp Bhd improved 1.5 sen to 40 sen, and Citaglobal Bhd was flat at 33 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index perked up 3.57 points to 10,590.92, the FBMT 100 Index gained 1.87 points to 10,303.29, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index narrowed 11.60 points to 10,785.23.
The FBM 70 Index slipped 3.20 points to 13,000.59, and the FBM ACE Index declined 11.74 points to 5,325.41.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index improved 57.28 points to 16.416.57, the Plantation Index slid 3.06 points to 6,970.77, the Industrial Products and Services Index gave up 1.06 points to 180.84, and the Energy Index shaved 0.03 of a point to 781.32.-BERNAMA