KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 5): Bursa Malaysia opened in positive territory on Thursday (Jan 5), supported by bargain-hunting activities.    

At 9.38am, the benchmark FBM KLCI had advanced by 5.55 points to 1,475.10, from Wednesday's closing of 1,469.55. 

The market bellwether opened 2.91 points higher at 1,472.46.   

On the broader market, gainers surpassed losers 273 to 204, while 292 counters were unchanged, 1,440 untraded, and nine others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 657.43 million units worth RM208.27 million. 

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd said despite the bargain-hunting activities, the overall sentiment remained rather dull, as the local bourse is undergoing a mild consolidation.

“Nonetheless, we still reckon that local equities are ripe for accumulation, and that the index may stage a rebound anytime soon, hence we expect it to trend within the 1,465-1,475 range today (Thursday).

“Meanwhile, concerns over softening demand from the US saw crude oil prices plummeting, with Brent crude weakening to US$78 per barrel, which may impact oil and gas stocks today,” it said in a note.

Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) advanced five sen to RM8.76 a share, Public Bank Bhd gained three sen to RM4.31 and Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) added three sen to RM9.40, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd increased seven sen to RM5.72, Digi.Com Bhd was flat at RM3.84, and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd declined five sen to RM8.40. 

As for the actives, Prolexus Bhd went up 3.5 sen to 54 sen and Citaglobal Bhd edged up half a sen to 33 sen, while Velesto Energy Bhd was flat at 15.5 sen, Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd inched down half a sen to 17.5 sen, Revenue Group Bhd shed seven sen to 60.5 sen, and L&P Global Bhd fell two sen to 52 sen. 

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index expanded by 37.98 points to 10,600.38, the FBMT 100 Index improved by 38.33 points to 10,310.13, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index widened by 21.82 points to 10,780.56. 

The FBM 70 Index bagged 46.49 points to 13,019.12, while the FBM ACE Index narrowed by 10.31 points to 5,368.22.   

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index surged 100.91 points to 16.421.45 and the Plantation Index was 6.06 points higher at 6,883.60, while the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.02 of a point to 181.40 and the Energy Index shaved 2.58 points to 778.65.