Bursa Malaysia opened slightly higher on trading this morning, supported by buying activities involving heavyweights, led by Public Bank and TNB.
At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) index rose 0.94 points or 0.06 per cent to 1,578.69 from 1,577.75 when it closed on Friday afternoon last week.
According to Bernama, the key index opened 0.95 points higher at 1,578.70.
In the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers by 304 to 239 while 320 counters were unchanged, 1,280 untraded and 14 others suspended.
Turnover was 464.0 million units worth RM239.46 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd believes support from buying activity could emerge today even after the FBM KLCI showed a downtrend last week as market sentiment tended to turn positive, driven by news of China Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine arrival in Malaysia last Saturday.
"However, we expect political developments may also make the market volatile. In the meantime, the upward trend of crude palm oil and Brent crude oil will continue to last in the short to mid term based on the current momentum, "he said in a note today.
To focus on the sector, Malacca Securities continues to recommend recovery-themed stocks such as the tourism and consumer-related sectors.
"Meanwhile, we expect construction and solar-related participants involved in engineering, procurement, construction and operation (EPCC) for the solar segment to be traded stronger following a statement from the Sultan of Johor," he said.
Johor will be a major producer of environmentally friendly energy in Southeast Asia through the opening of a solar energy park in Pengerang, Kota Tinggi with a project cost of RM1.4 billion.
The project, dubbed ‘Taman Ibrahim Sultan Ibrahim’, will be the largest of its kind in the region with a capacity of 450 megawatts, according to a post on the official Facebook page of Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar yesterday.
Bursa Malaysia heavyweights, Public Bank rose seven sen to RM4.23, TNB rose 18 sen to RM10.28, IHH Healthcare added four sen to RM5.12, Maybank higher six sen to RM8.09, Hong Leong Bank unchanged at RM18 and Top Glove dropped 19 sen to RM5.05.
Among actives, Vivocom jumped 13 sen to RM1.18, Nexgram and Sapura Energy rose half-a-sen to five sen and 15 sen, respectively, while Bumi Armada rose 1.5 sen to 41 sen, EA Holdings was flat at four sen and Straits Interlogistics declined one sen to 17.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 18.64 points to 11,632.81, the FBMT 100 Index expanded 16.91 points to 11,318.91 and the FBM Emas Syariah Index increased 1.05 points to 12,980.2.
FBM 70 increased 62.20 points to 15,523.37 and FBM ACE added 16.38 points to 10,889.9.
By sector, the Industrial Products and Services Index rose 0.13 points to 185.47 and the Plantation Index was higher by 16.95 points to 7,194.08.
The Financial Services Index rose 48.10 points to 15,050.44.
