KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 29): Bursa Malaysia opened on a positive note in the early morning session on Thursday (Sept 29), tracking an improved Wall Street performance overnight.

At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) advanced 6.63 points to 1,408.52 from Wednesday's close of 1,401.89, after opening 5.5 points higher at 1,407.39.   

The market breadth was positive with advancers outpacing decliners 260 to 56, while 157 counters were unchanged, 1,928 untraded and 57 others suspended. 

Turnover stood at 123.66 million units worth RM57.47 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said he expects to see some buying activities on Thursday, particularly in banking and technology-related stocks.

“As such, we anticipate the index to trend in the 1,405-1,420 range today (Thursday, Sept 29) despite the cautious market undertone,” he told Bernama on Thursday. 

Among the heavyweights, Public Bank Bhd gained two sen to RM4.28, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd increased four sen to RM8.41, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd advanced six sen to RM5.17, and IHH Healthcare Bhd, too, rose six sen to RM5.99. Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) was flat at RM8.56, and Hong Leong Bank Bhd was unchanged at RM20.44. 

Of the actives, PT Resources Holdings Bhd went up two sen to 43.5 sen, Top Glove Corp Bhd bagged 1.5 sen to 60.5 sen, and Tanco Holdings Bhd was one sen higher at 30.5 sen. Sapura Energy Bhd stood at four sen, followed by Velesto Energy Bhd at 11.5 sen and SNS Network Technology Bhd at 27 sen, as all three counters were flat.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index widened 53.3 points to 10,062.75, the FBM 70 garnered 88.48 points to 12,255.13, and the FBMT 100 Index expanded 52.07 points to 9,812.58.  

The FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 50.63 points to 10,124.4, while the FBM ACE ticked up 31.54 points to 4,687.44. 

Sector-wise, the Energy Index was firmer by 11.69 points at 682.01, the Plantation Index went up 46.91 points to 6,505.99, the Financial Services Index improved 67.04 points to 15,990.66, and the Industrial Products and Services Index perked 1.43 points to 171.58.