KLCI opens 8pts higher, banks lift

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's blue chips opened higher on Tuesday, after
the FBM KLCI set fresh records on Monday as Barisan Nasional continued
to control the federal government.
At 9am, the FBM KLCI was up
8.21 points to 1,760.23. Turnover was 18.50 million shares valued at
RM30.54mil. There were 83 gainers, 16 losers and 54 counters unchanged.
However,
BIMB Securities Research cautioned the euphoric buying on Monday might
be overdone as investors would revert back to fundamentals in view of
the impending corporate earnings season this month end.
"Judging
from the preliminary indications, we understand there may be more
downside bias than otherwise. Hence, one has to be vigilant on the
market now. Then again, with liquidity flooding the system at the
moment, we reckon this may continue to fuel the market's momentum over
the short term," it said.
Public Bank and Hong Leong Bank rose 12 sen each to RM16.54 and RM14.52, HLFG 10 sen to RM15.96 while AmBank added eight sen to RM6.95. Maybank rose six sen to RM10.04 and CIMB five sen higher to RM8.40 in active trade.
BAT was the top gainer, rising RM1.02 to RM65.02 while among plantations, KL Kepong advanced 28 sen to RM21.82 and PPB Group 20 sen to Rm13.20.
Also higher were Petronas Dagangan, adding 16 sen to RM24.42 and Axiata nine sen to RM6.86 while Sapura Kencana Petroluem gained five sen to RM3.50.