The Bursa Malaysia market ended this morning's trading session higher as the trading atmosphere was calm ahead of the Chinese New Year celebration at the weekend.
At exactly 12.30 this afternoon, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 1.27 points to 1,513.63 from 1,512.36 yesterday.
The barometer index opened 1.46 points higher at 1,513.82 and moved between 1,509.56 to 1,514.72 throughout the day.
Market sentiment was positive with gainers outnumbering losers by 398 versus 347. Meanwhile, 393 counters were unchanged, 1,149 counters were not traded and 11 others were suspended.
Total trading results amounted to 1.29 billion units worth RM620.1 million.
According to Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's Vice President of Equity Research, Thong Pak Leng said foreign buying remains significant and he believes the local bourse is well supported at current levels.
Today, he expects the index to hover in the 1,510 to 1,520 range. Meanwhile, crude oil prices rose as the Gaza conflict escalated with Brent crude trading near $82 a barrel.
Among the heavyweights, CelcomDigi Bhd rose two sen to RM4.24, Tenaga Nasional Bhd was unchanged at RM10.78, Press Metal Aluminum Holdings Bhd was unchanged at RM4.62, Malayan Banking Bhd dropped one sen to RM9.25, IHH Healthcare Bhd fell one sen to RM6.12 and Petronas Chemicals Group Holdings Bhd fell one sen to RM6.70.
As for active shares, Dataprep Holdings Bhd rose 1.5 sen to 14.5 sen, HE Group Bhd rose one sen to 40 sen, Perdana Petroleum Bhd rose 1.5 sen to 27 sen, Widad Group Bhd was unchanged at 12.5 sen and TWL Holdings Bhd was unchanged at four sen and Reneuco Bhd dropped 1.5 sen to 5.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 13.82 points to 11,247.75 and the FBMT 100 Index rose 11.97 points to 10,909.45.
The FBM ACE Index increased 10.25 points to 4,782.06, the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 21.59 points to 11,287.42 and the FBM 70 Index increased 28.38 points to 15,197.61.
In terms of sectors, the Plantation Index rose 3.78 points to 7,201.69 and the Financial Services Index fell 38.12 points to 16,878.77.
The Industrial Products and Services Index fell 0.07 points to 172.16, the Real Estate Index added 4.02 points to 909.12 and the Energy Index added 8.24 points to 888.94.
