Bursa opens higher on bargain hunting, retreats thereafter
The main index slips to 1,666.81 as easing Middle East tensions lift sentiment and push Brent crude prices lower.
Bursa Malaysia started the trading day on a positive note on Tuesday, with the benchmark index opening 0.13 points higher at 1,666.81, after dipping from Monday’s close of 1,666.94. The initial increase was driven by bargain hunting among investors, as tensions in West Asia eased, boosting sentiment and causing Brent crude oil prices to fall.
By the early hours of trading, the index had slipped 0.13 points from its opening level. Positive market breadth was noted, with gaining stocks outnumbering falling ones 265 to 150. A total of 294 stocks remained unchanged, while 2,164 were untraded and 11 suspended. Turnover for the day amounted to 314.78 million shares, valued at RM148.07 million.
Thong Pak Leng, Vice-President of Equity Research at Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd, commented on the local bourse, stating that it presented opportunities for stock selection following its underwhelming performance last week. "Market valuation remains decent, currently below the 16.5 times price-to-earnings average. For today, we expect buying interest to continue, and the index should trend between the 1,665 and 1,680 levels," he added.
Among the prominent gainers, Maybank rose two sen to RM10.40, CIMB added four sen to RM7.69, and Public Bank saw a one sen decrease to RM4.78. Heavyweights like Tenaga Nasional fell by 10 sen to RM12.94, while IHH Healthcare remained unchanged at RM7.62. The strongest gainers included Fraser & Neave, which climbed 50 sen to RM23.10, Petron Malaysia advanced by 21 sen to RM4, and Malaysian Pacific Industries increased by 18 sen to RM42.98.
Conversely, Nestle fell 48 sen to RM89.22, Allianz Malaysia dropped 20 sen to RM21.10, and Tenaga Nasional shed 10 sen to RM12.94. The FBM Mid 70 Index gained 51.93 points to 17,741.07, the FBM Emas Index added 12.17 points to 12,410.78, and the FBM Top 100 Index climbed 8.48 points to 12,198.93. The FBM Mid 70 Index improved by 0.69 points to 184.19, while the Energy Index increased by 2.14 points to 847.57.
The Financial Services Index rose by 25.65 points to 19,517.12, and the Plantation Index gained 1.10 points to 9,411.59.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- Bursa opens higher on bargain hunting, retreats thereafter freemalaysiatoday.com
