Bursa Malaysia opens higher on renewed buying interest, positive regional market sentiment

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened on a positive note today, driven by buying interest in energy stocks amid positive regional market sentiments, a dealer said.

At 9.05 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) pushed up 6.79 points to 1,496.59 from Monday's close of 1,489.80.

The benchmark index opened 2.78 points firmer at 1,492.58.

On the broader market, gainers led decliners 164 to 86, while 182 counters were unchanged, 1,842 untraded, and seven others suspended.

Turnover stood at 73.37 million units worth RM34.36 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street was closed for the Labour Day holiday yesterday but a look at the index futures showed that all three major indices rebounded following a weak performance last Friday.

As for the local bourse, he said some buying interest in energy stocks could be seen today as the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has decided to cut its output, resulting in the Brent crude price jumping to almost US$96 per barrel.

"On the flip side, some profit-taking on plantation stocks may emerge as inventory is seen to touch a two-year high which could put some pressure on crude palm oil price," he told Bernama.

Overall, he reckons the market sentiment will remain cautious due to the lack of clear catalysts and expect the index to trend within the 1,485-1,500 range today.

Among the heavyweights, Dialog Group and Public Bank added two sen to RM2.26 and RM4.69 respectively, Maybank gained four sen to RM8.98, Petronas Chemicals climbed five sen to RM8.87 and CIMB gained three sen to RM5.51.

Of the actives, Vortex Consolidated, Jade Marvel and Sapura Energy stayed flat at 16.5 sen, 29 sen, and 4.5 sen respectively, South Malaysia Industries shed half-a-sen to 25 sen, and Destini Bhd dropped one sen to 8.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index widened 42.16 points to 10,595.93, the FBMT 100 Index inched up 42.64 points to 10,350.67, the FBM 70 advanced 34.42 points to 12,624.90, the FBM Emas Shariah Index strengthened 38.26 points to 10,634.20, while the FBM ACE shed 1.61 points to 4,758.54.

Sector-wise, the Plantation Index was 35.27 points higher at 7,036.85 while the Industrial Products and Services Index improved 0.51 of-a-point to 180.78, the Financial Services Index climbed 68.60 points to 16,839.42 and the Energy Index perked up 8.92 points to 709.65.

-- BERNAMA