Bursa starts higher as bargain hunting offsets cautious sentiment

KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 — Bursa Malaysia extended gains at Thursday’s open, supported by bargain hunting in utilities and telecommunications stocks.

At 9.11am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 1.32 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 1,683.45 from Wednesday’s close of 1,682.13.

The index opened 2.32 points higher at 1,684.45.

Market breadth was positive, with gainers outnumbering decliners 228 to 116. A total of 250 counters were unchanged, 2,157 untraded and 40 suspended.

Turnover amounted to 169.06 million shares valued at RM103.08 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng told Bernama that Wall Street closed mixed, with gains in industrials, consumer services and healthcare offset by declines in telecommunications, oil and gas and basic materials.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.35 per cent, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell 0.10 per cent and 0.43 per cent, respectively.

He added that key regional indices also ended higher, underpinned by strong buying in technology stocks. The Hang Seng Index gained 0.33 per cent to 23,412.18 points.

“For today, the FBM KLCI is expected to trade within the 1,680–1,690 range as investors remain cautious amid lingering external uncertainties.

“Meanwhile, crude palm oil futures continue to hold firmly above RM4,600 per tonne, which could lend support to plantation-related stocks,” he added.

Among heavyweight stocks, YTL Power International and Sunway rose seven sen each to RM4.15 and RM5.27 respectively, Telekom Malaysia gained 11 sen to RM7.50, Sunway Healthcare added two sen to RM1.83, while Hong Leong Bank climbed 24 sen to RM22.18.

Among active counters, Pegasus Heights, Top Glove and Velesto Energy eased half-a-sen each to 0.5 sen, 69.5 sen and 28 sen respectively, while AirAsia X and GIIB were unchanged at RM1.30 and 43.5 sen.

On the gainers’ list, Malaysian Pacific Industries climbed 26 sen to RM47.14, Hong Leong Bank rose 24 sen to RM22.18, Hong Leong Financial Group added 12 sen to RM18.30, Telekom Malaysia gained 11 sen to RM7.50, and Petronas Dagangan advanced 10 sen to RM18.74.

Among the top losers, Press Metal Aluminium shed 16 sen to RM8.13, Petronas Chemicals fell 12 sen to RM3.98, United Plantations slipped 10 sen to RM33.52, PJBumi declined seven sen to RM3.82, and OM Holdings eased six sen to 65.5 sen.

On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index gained 17.46 points to 12,492.12, while the FBM Top 100 Index rose 18.03 points to 12,326.32 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 6.24 points to 12,382.78.

The FBM Mid 70 Index strengthened 61.59 points to 17,948.85, while the FBM ACE Index gained 18.33 points to 4,785.36.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index climbed 57.79 points to 19,814.13, the Energy Index slipped 2.57 points to 747.63, the Plantation Index eased 10.52 points to 8,969.67, while the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 1.29 points to 183.37. — Bernama