Bursa Malaysia opens higher
KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia rebounded from the lower close on Thursday to open higher today on the back of renewed buying interest in key heavyweights, namely TNB and Maybank.
At 9.13am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) went up 1.47 points to 1,670.50 from Thursday's close of 1,669.03.
The index opened 0.58 of-a-point higher at 1,669.61.
TNB rose 16 sen to RM14.48, while Maybank gained two sen to RM7.81.
However, on the broader market, losers led gainers 127 to 109, while 190 counters remained unchanged, with 1,274 untraded and 80 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 127.02 million shares worth RM66.48 million.
Dealers said some traders went bargain hunting in the local market as selling pressure in bluechips and selected heavyweight counters led Bursa Malaysia to close lower for the past four days.
Kenanga Research, in a note, said the FBM KLCI could look to end the week on a lower note closer towards the 1,650 (S1) level if it failed to swiftly recapture the key 1,672.
"We expect the next levels of resistance and support to be located at 1,680 and 1,642, respectively," it said.
On the scoreboard, the FBM Emas Index rose 4.85 points to 11,785.52, the FBMT100 Index gained 6.64 points to 11,488.15 and the FBM Emas Syariah Index surged 6.79 points to 12,429.73.
The FBM 70 fell 4.43 points to 13,762.48 and the FBM Ace lost 2.28 points to 5,141.65.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index was 0.24 of-a-point higher at 7,955.91, the Industrial Index improved 0.32 of-a-point to 3,153.53, while the Finance Index rose 4.22 points to 14,486.74.
Of heavyweights, Public Bank and Petronas Chemicals were flat at RM19.76 and RM7.00, respectively, while Sime Darby declined four sen to RM8.06 and IHH Healthcare fell two sen to RM6.39.
Of active, RGB added 1.5 sen to 21.5 sen, Perisai Petroleum decreased half-a-sen to five sen, Kinsteel went down 1.5 sen to four sen and Focus Dynamic was flat at 7.5 sen.
Gold futures contracts on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives were higher in the early session today with two contract months traded, supported by higher demand and weaker ringgit, dealers said.
At 9.43am, October 2016 added three ticks to RM171.20 a gramme and December 2016 rose six ticks at RM171.90 a gramme.
November 2016 and January 2017 remained pegged at RM171.2 and RM171.45 a gramme, respectively.
Turnover stood at three lots, while open interest amounted to 275 contracts.
At 9.30am, physical gold was 70 sen higher at RM165.74 a gramme from Thursday's 5pm closing of RM165.04 a gramme. — Bernama