KUALA LUMPUR, April 23 — Bursa Malaysia opened higher on Thursday, buoyed by improved sentiment after US President Donald Trump extended the West Asia ceasefire, with gains led by banking stocks in line with a firmer overnight performance on Wall Street.
At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 6.74 points to 1,717.13 from Wednesday’s close of 1,710.39.
The benchmark index opened 5.16 points higher at 1,715.55.
Market breadth was positive, with gainers outnumbering losers 251 to 125. A total of 361 counters were unchanged, 2,034 untraded and 43 suspended.
Turnover stood at 207.58 million units valued at RM116.32 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street ended broadly firmer following the ceasefire extension, supported by strong earnings from Boeing.
“Nonetheless, sentiment remains cautious as crude oil prices rose, with Brent crude surpassing US$100 per barrel.
“Meanwhile, the US 10-year yield edged higher to 4.307 per cent,” he told Bernama.
Thong said the FBM KLCI is expected to trend within the 1,700–1,720 range today.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank added 10 sen to RM11.32, Public Bank rose five sen to RM4.81, Tenaga Nasional was unchanged at RM14.52, CIMB Group gained six sen to RM7.80, and IHH Healthcare advanced four sen to RM8.85.
On the most active list, ACE Market debutant AMS Advanced Material slipped one sen to 28 sen, NexG gained one sen to 32.5 sen, AirAsia X fell three sen to RM1.27, Velesto Energy added one sen to 34 sen, and Zetrix AI rose one sen to 87 sen.
Among the top gainers, Malaysian Pacific Industries surged 88 sen to RM36.52, Dutch Lady Milk Industries added 12 sen to RM32.50, Country View gained 10 sen to RM3.20, SAM Engineering rose eight sen to RM3.98, and Press Metal advanced six sen to RM7.92.
Among the top losers, Petronas Dagangan fell 32 sen to RM20.28, United Plantations shed 22 sen to RM33.50, WATTA Holding declined seven sen to 30 sen, KESM Industries slipped five sen to RM3.32, and AGX Group eased three sen to 43 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index rose 45.35 points to 12,498.94, the FBM Emas Index gained 43.31 points to 12,661.33, the FBM Mid 70 Index advanced 48.91 points to 17,884.18, the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 16.64 points to 12,497.83, and the FBM ACE Index climbed 3.22 points to 4,624.77.
By sector, the Financial Services Index rose 135.55 points to 20,288.50, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 0.62 of-a-point to 186.50, the Energy Index eased 0.07 of-a-point to 821.97, and the Plantation Index declined 15.80 points to 8,895.83. — Bernama
Malay Mail – Money
