KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened higher for the second consecutive day after global stocks continued their recovery following October’s steep sell-off, while the dollar and Treasury yields fell, as the outcome of yesterday’s US midterm elections broadly matched market expectations.
At 9.05 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 8.98 points to 1,723.86 from Wednesday’s close of 1,714.88.
The index opened 11.08 points higher at 1,725.96.
Public Investment Bank Bhd said external factors continued to be the focus, particularly the US, as the Democrats won control of the House of Representatives and the Republicans retained the Senate, the focus is on the impact of a divided government on US fiscal policy.
“On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 2.1 per cent to 2,813, its highest close for a month and its biggest one-day rise since October 16.
“As for major Asia-Pacific equities benchmarks, which have been broadly higher, were mixed as theUS results became clear,” the research house said in a note.
On Bursa, the broader market saw gainers lead losers 278 to 44 with 115 counters unchanged, 1,416 untraded and 20 others suspended.
Volume stood at 134.14 million units valued at RM68.39 million.
Among heavyweights, PChem added 18 sen to RM9.88, Tenaga rose 14 sen to RM14.96, Maybank gained five sen to RM9.33 and HLBank bagged 24 sen to RM20.84.
For actives, SapNRG, Iris and PUC all inched up half-a-sen to 37.5 sen, 15.5 sen and 15 sen respectively, while TatGiap improved two sen to 19.5 sen and Frontkn advanced 4.5 sen to 87.5 sen.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index bagged 61.78 points to 12,127.27, the FBM Ace Index rose 54.22 points to 5,038.88 and the FBM 70 added 56.22 points to 13,965.22.
The FBM Emas Index was 58.88 points better at 11,952.90 and the FBMT 100 Index accumulated 58.18 points to 11,794.34.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index rose 34.70 points to 7,406.06, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 1.72 points better at 176.39, and the Financial Services Index was 80.25 points stronger at 17,311.72.