Bursa Malaysia again maintained its positive tone in the middle of Monday's session in line with the excellent performance of regional exchanges.
At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 9.95 points (0.64%) to 1,557.52 compared to 1,547.57 at the close last Friday. The benchmark index opened one point stronger at 1,548.57.
Broad market sentiment was positive with gainers outnumbering losers at 656 to 320. Meanwhile, 377 counters were unchanged, 1,020 were untraded and 24 others were suspended.
The total turnover is two billion units worth RM1.24 billion.
According to Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd commentary, traders are now focusing on several important events especially the US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which will be published this Thursday.
Additionally, major corporate earnings reports such as Tesla, Meta, Microsoft and Alphabet will be released this week.
In the local market, investors are likely to focus on defensive sectors such as utilities and consumer. They favor selected stocks in the automotive and shipping sectors.
Meanwhile, Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd believes that the KLCI can be further strengthened until a breakthrough in the 1,558 to 1,565 area as a resistance level.
Investors in the local unit also need to pay attention to the latest news regarding geopolitical tensions, the shift in rate-cutting policy by the Federal Reserve (Fed), the results of the US economic data in the first quarter of 2024 and the weakness of the performance of the Malaysian Ringgit (RM).
Meanwhile, heavyweights such as Maybank Bhd rose 10 sen to RM9.75, Public Bank Bhd rose four sen to RM4.19, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd rose five sen to RM6.61 and Tenaga Nasional Bhd rose six sen to RM11. 66, while Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd lost one sen to RM6.82.
As for active shares, Keyfield International Bhd rose 96 sen to RM1.86, Bina Puri Holdings Bhd lost half a sen to 7.5 sen, Pan Malaysia Holdings Bhd rose two sen to 23 sen and Ancom Logistics Bhd rose 3.5 sen to 21.5 sen. Meanwhile, Ingenieur Gudang Bhd was unchanged at 14.0 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Gold Index increased by 75.11 points to 11,671.18, the FBM 70 Index increased by 91.79 points to 16,150.18, the FBMT 100 Index increased by 70.25 points to 11,318.2, the FBM Shariah Index increased by 62.17 points to 11,832.04 and the FBM ACE Index increased by 46.12 points to 4.9 05.1.
In terms of sectors, the Industrial Products and Services Index rose 0.66 points to 185.15, the Financial Services Index jumped 140.21 points to 17,258.99, the Energy Index rose 6.48 points to 975.67 and the Plantation Index gained 44.31 points to 7,419.96.
