Malaysia's Stock Market Opens Higher

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 12 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's stock market, Bursa Malaysia started off the day on a higher note today, marked by a mixed bag of gains and losses in key heavyweights. The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 0.27 of a point better at 1.675.48, after opening 0.43 of-a-point higher at 1,675.64. The index closed at 1,675.21 on Wednesday. Gainers outpaced losers 193 to 57 with 190 counters unchanged, 1,293 untraded and 26 others suspended. Turnover stood at 156.09 million shares worth RM59.08 million. In a note, Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) Research said market sentiment should remain positive amid recovering crude oil prices. The overnight US Crude price stood at US$52.28 per barrel, three cents higher, while Brent Crude ended US$1.46 higher at US$55.10 a barrel. "Also, trading focus will still linger around the ACE market," the research firm added. On heavyweights, Maybank declined four sen to RM8.26, TNB and Public Bank were flat at RM14 and RM20.06 respectively, while Sime Darby rose two sen to RM8.52. Of the actives, Green Packet was half-a-sen lower at 28 sen, while Scomi and Sumatec added half-a-sen each to 17 sen and 8.5 sen respectively. The FBM Emas Index was 11.24 points better at 11,730.36, the FBMT100 Index inched up 8.81 points to 11,434.42 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index edged up 19.76 points to 12,264.72. The FBM 70 rose 36.97 points to 13,379.51 and the FBM Ace increased 15.95 points to 5,139.6. Sector-wise, the Plantation Index lost 7.21 points to 7,903.51, the Finance Index gained 6.35 points to 14,749.07, and the Industrial Index added 3.66 points to 3,178.56. -- BERNAMA