KUALA LUMPUR (April 22): Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session higher as a strengthening Wall Street continued to boost market sentiment.
All sectoral indices remained in green territory, with the FBM KLCI gaining 8.79 points to 1,605.37 as at 12.30pm.
The market bellwether opened 3.31 points higher at 1,599.89, and fluctuated between 1,598.19 and 1,605.77 throughout the morning session.
Overall market breadth was positive, with gainers outpacing losers 538 to 409, while 434 counters were unchanged, 805 untraded and six others suspended.
Total volume stood at 4.45 billion shares worth RM2.35 billion.
An analyst said the market was also benefiting from bargain-hunting activities, with investors nibbling on beaten-down counters following yesterday’s losses.
The market also moved in sync with most regional bourses despite worries over the resurgence in Covid-19 infections globally.
Yesterday, US stock markets rebounded as investors’ attention shifted to progress in the economic recovery amid a flurry of corporate earnings releases.
The Dow rose 0.93% to 34,137.31, Nasdaq improved 1.19% to end at 13,950.22, and the S&P 500 increased 0.93% to close at 4,173.42.
The list of gainers among the heavyweights was led by healthcare-related counters, mainly glove counters, this morning.
Top Glove Corp Bhd increased 14 sen to RM5.59, Hartalega Holdings Bhd improved 42 sen to RM10.54, Supermax Corp Bhd was 23 sen higher at RM5.77 and IHH Healthcare Bhd added three sen to RM5.38.
Meanwhile, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PetChem) expanded 12 sen to RM7.91, and Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd (HLFG) was 22 sen stronger at RM17.
Among the active counters, Techhna-X Bhd rose 1.5 sen to 14.5 sen, Key Asic Bhd lost 2.5 sen to 18.5 sen, and UCrest Bhd lost eight sen to 40.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index recovered 71.47 points to 11,826.59, the FBMT 100 added 68.90 points to 11,479.67, and the FBM 70 surged 117.12 points to 15,627.57.
The FBM Emas Shariah climbed 105.03 points to 13,257.62, and the FBM ACE was 74.13 points better at 8,600.21.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index was 43.60 points higher at 6,861.63, the Financial Services Index gained 14.60 points to 15,026.02, and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 1.45 points to 196.21.
