Bursa Malaysia remains higher at midday

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia stayed higher at midday, supported by the regional markets’ upbeat performance and buying activities on selected heavyweights.

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased by 3.58 points to 1,469.25 from yesterday’s close of 1,465.67.

Petronas Chemicals, which added eight sen to RM7.17, and Public Bank, which rose two sen to RM4.36, pulled the composite index up by a combined 1.69 points.

The FBM KLCI had opened 0.76 of-a-point better at 1,466.43 and moved between 1,466.28 and 1,470.30 throughout the morning session.

The market breadth was neutral with 367 decliners versus 365 gainers, while 424 counters were unchanged, 1,161 untraded and 23 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.99 billion units valued at RM1.22 billion.

ActivTrades trader Anderson Alves said Asian equity markets were likely to trade positively on Wednesday with global sentiment continuing to improve for risk assets.

“Wall Street rallied and this surge was primarily influenced by a lower yield environment, following the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) decision to maintain its current policy stance.

“It is worth noting that price action is also influenced by liquidity dynamics amidst thinning trade, as market participants begin winding down activities in anticipation of the upcoming holidays,” he said.

According to him, traders are now looking ahead to various economic indicators and policy statements and the People’s Bank of China’s loan prime rate decision.

“Market participants continue to monitor the evolving geopolitical landscape, particularly the situation in the Red Sea, which is likely to impact crude oil prices and broader market sentiment in the coming days,” he added.

Among the heavyweights, Axiata and Maxis gained four sen each to RM2.45 and RM3.90, respectively, while Press Metal Aluminium eased three sen to RM4.85 and Petronas Gas lost 10 sen to RM17.52.

Of the actives, Jati Tinggi perked 5.5 sen to 32.5 sen, Dagang Nexchange went up 2.5 sen to 42 sen, Top Glove and Careplus rose half-a-sen each to 94.5 sen and 47 sen, respectively, and Leform was two sen higher at 41 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 28.21 points to 10,892.77, the FBMT 100 Index put on 31.08 points to 10,561.60, the FBM ACE Index added 47.90 points to 5,231.03, the FBM 70 Index expanded 64.90 points to 14,598.92, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index improved 27.92 points to 11,012.61.

Sector-wise, the Energy Index edged up 0.21 of-a-point to 818.66, the Financial Services Index widened 39.55 points to 16,545.25, the Plantation Index increased 6.30 points to 7,010.90, and the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.29 of-a-point firmer at 171.93. – BK