KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session on a positive note at mid-day, led by buying support for selected heavyweights amid a mixed broader market.
At 12.30 pm, the FBM-KLCI gained 3.04 points, or 0.17% to 1,768.84. The local bourse opened up 1.98 points, or 0.11% to 1,767.78.
In the broader market, gainers thumped losers 444 to 353 losers and 396 counters unchanged on the Bursa Malaysia. Turnover was at 1.994 billion shares valued at RM1.34bil.
PublicInvest said the FBM KLCI was set to open higher today as lingering optimism on the European political front and the prospect of US tax reforms supported further gains for global stocks and the euro as haven assets such as treasuries, the yen and gold remained out of favour.
Overnight, US markets rallied, following a global equity rally on Monday, as investors assessed corporate earnings and awaited a tax plan from the White House scheduled for Wednesday.
Similarly, European stocks jumped to multi-year highs after centrist Emmanuel Macron won the first round of French election.
Hong Leong Investment Bank Research said buying interest continued to build up as the recent better-than-expected earnings results continue to reinforce expectations of an improved economic and earnings growth.
Also, traders’ focus will be on the upcoming corporate tax reform announcement on Wednesday.
On Bursa Malaysia, KPJ-WB was the top gainer, up 29.5 sen to RM1.11, Hong Leong Financial Group rose 26 sen to RM16.46 while Hong Leong Industries added 24 sen to RM9.99. The top losers included KESM and Petronas Chemicals.
Among the banks, Public Bank and CIMB was unchanged at RM19.96 and RM5.75 respectively while Maybank was up 2 sen to RM9.39.
The ringgit opened higher against the greenback. The local currency is quoted at 4.3510 at noon.
Oil prices edged down on Wednesday as data showed a rise in U.S. crude inventories and record supplies in the rest of the world cast doubt on OPEC’s ability to cut supplies and tighten the market.
International benchmark Brent crude oil prices were trading at US$52.06 per barrel, down 4 cents from their previous close.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 7 cents at US$49.49 a barrel.
Elsewhere in the region, Asian shares closed higher with Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.02%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.72%, Korea’s Kospi rose 0.53% and the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong advanced 0.61%.
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