KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened higher this morning, tracking the rally on Wall Street on strong economic data.
At 9.15am, the benchmark index added 9.43 points to 1,500.0. The index opened 1.09 points higher at 1,491.66.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.29%, to 32,812.5, the S&P 500 gained 1.56%, to 4,155.17 and the Nasdaq Composite added 2.59%, to 12,668.16.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd reckoned the FBM KLCI is in good stead and is expected to trend higher today to re-test the 1,500 mark and beyond.
It added that a rebound in vegetable oils prices helped push crude palm oil higher to RM3,864 per tonne while the Brent crude slumped to below US$97 a barrel on higher inventory build up.
Hong Leong Investment Bank said barring a decisive fall below neckline support at 1,475, the bulls are still intact to revisit immediate upside at 1,500-1,512 levels.
“A successful breakout above 1,512 could lift the benchmark to stiffer hurdles at 1,528 (100D MA) and 1,536 (200D MA) levels.
“On the flip side, failure to defend the 1,475 support could trigger a further selldown towards stronger support buffers near 1,457 and 1446 areas,” it said.
On Bursa Malaysia, Malaysian Pacific Industries
jumped RM1.32 to RM33.02, Nestle rose 80 sen to RM135.10, Batu Kawan gained 40 sen to RM23.50 and Hong Leong Bank advanced 36 sen to RM21.16.
Among the losers, Kotra Industries fell 17 sen to RM4.02, BAT lost six sen to RM10.50, CB Industrial Product eased five sen to RM1.34 and QL Resources declined four sen to RM5.20.
