KUALA LUMPUR, April 22 — Bursa Malaysia opened higher today on improved sentiment amid possible renegotiations between the US and Iran despite Wall Street closing lower overnight.
At 9.13am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 4.09 points to 1,719.42 from yesterday’s close of 1,715.33.
The benchmark index opened 2.67 points firmer at 1,718.00.
Market breadth was also positive, with gainers outpacing losers 281 to 181. A total of 342 counters were unchanged, while 1,955 were untraded and 35 suspended.
Turnover stood at 278.78 million units valued at RM166.50 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd head of research Kenny Yee said Wall Street ended broadly lower as concerns grew over the looming ceasefire expiry later today.
“Nonetheless, in the latest development, US President Donald Trump is said to have extended the ceasefire indefinitely.
“In line with the uncertainty, crude oil prices surged again, with Brent crude approaching the US$99 per barrel level,” he told Bernama.
For today, Yee said, the FBM KLCI is expected to hover within the 1,710-1,730 range.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank and Public Bank increased two sen each to RM11.38 and RM4.82, respectively, Tenaga Nasional slipped two sen to RM14.58, CIMB Group gained four sen to RM7.84, and IHH Healthcare improved four sen to RM8.78.
On the most active list, Perdana Petroleum and Top Glove added 1.5 sen each to 18 sen and 73 sen, respectively, while VS Industry and Zetrix AI rose one sen each to 21.5 sen and 90.5 sen, respectively. However, NexG was unchanged at 30.5 sen.
Among the top gainers, Nestle surged 28 sen to RM98.30, Kuala Lumpur Kepong climbed 26 sen to RM20.86, Petronas Dagangan gained 26 sen to RM20.26, United Plantations rose 18 sen to RM33.80, and Allianz Malaysia improved 14 sen to RM21.04.
Of the top losers, Malaysian Pacific Industries fell 40 sen to RM36.20 and Sunway Construction declined six sen to RM6.97, while JCBNext, Go Hub Capital and Ajinomoto dropped four sen each to RM1.66, RM1.00, and RM12.60, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index rose 25.79 points to 12,509.10, the FBM Emas Index gained 26.49 points to 12,674.57, the FBM Mid 70 Index advanced 19.90 points to 17,870.94, the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 20.82 points to 12,492.95, and the FBM ACE Index edged up 2.14 points to 4,622.65.
By sector, the Financial Services Index strengthened 50.19 points to 20,374.75, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.30 of a point to 185.47, the Energy Index surged 7.34 points to 815.68, and the Plantation Index advanced 27.50 points to 8,864.38. — Bernama
Malay Mail – Money
