Bursa Malaysia Rebounds To Open Slightly Higher

KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia rebounded to open slightly higher Monday morning from last week’s losses as bargain hunting emerged to boost demand in the market. At 9.04 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) stood at 1,731.28, up 0.29 of-a-point, from Friday's close of 1,730.99. The key index opened 0.14 of-a-point better at 1,731.13 Malaysian Association of Technical Analysts President Nik Ihsan Raja Abdullah said the local market would see investors accumulate selected stocks while adopting a defensive stance this week on the back of mixed sentiment in the global market. He said stocks in demand included healthcare, consumers and selected blue chips, which were now cheaper to buy given the recent sell-off due to the geopolitical tension in Syria. “The geopolitical tension is easing. This will attract investors to come back but they will trade cautiously, ” he told Bernama. Nik said the support level would be seen between 1,710 and 1,715, with the psychological level remaining at 1,700, while the resistance level would be confined between 1,730 and 1,760. The market breadth was positive as gainers outpaced losers 142 to 86 with 196 counters unchanged, 1,319 untraded while 16 others were suspended. Turnover stood at 126.19 million shares worth RM30.45 million. On the scoreboard, the FBM Emas Index gained 4.82 points to 12,312.94, the FBM 70 rose 17.66 points to 14,512.94, the FBM Ace chalked up 32.45 points to 6,034.07 and the FBMT100 Index added 5.09 points to 11,953.2. FBM Emas Shariah Index, however, trimmed 9.02 points to 12,750.38. Sector-wise, the Industrial Index perked 1.31 points to 3,238.47, the Finance Index edged up 37.38 points to 15,602.09 but the Plantation Index eased 6.47 points to 7,907.56. Among heavyweights, Maybank slipped one sen to RM8.94, Tenaga shed two sen to RM13.68, and Petronas Chemicals lost seven sen to RM7.53. Public Bank rose 10 sen to RM20.00 but Sime Darby was flat at RM9.27. Of actives, GSB Group and IRIS Corp added one sen each to 13 sen and 17 sen, respectively, while Prinsiptek inched up half-a-sen to 20.5 sen. -- BERNAMA