Bargain hunting lifts Bursa to end higher on Thursday

BURSA Malaysia ended higher today with the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rising by 0.94%, supported by continuous bargain hunting in selected heavyweights, amid mixed regional market performance, a dealer said.

On the broader market, however, losers outnumbered gainers 556 to 392, while 412 counters were unchanged, 919 untraded, and 13 others suspended.

At 5pm, the barometer index rose 13.72 points to 1,472.77 from Wednesday’s close of 1,459.05.

The index opened 10.05 points higher at 1,469.10 and moved between 1,461.94 and 1,476.02 throughout the day.

Total turnover improved marginally to 2.48 billion units worth RM1.84 bil from 2.43 billion units worth RM1.82 bil on Wednesday.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng told Bernama that the key regional markets were mixed due to various reactions relating to the United States Federal Reserve’s interest hike of 0.75%.

On the home front, he said the local market remained cheap compared to regional peers resulting in the emergence of bargain hunting.

“However, due to heightened market volatility across the region, we anticipate the benchmark index to move range-bound within 1,460-1,480 towards the weekend, with immediate support at 1,450 and resistance at 1,490,” he said.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank rose 9 sen to RM8.72, Public Bank gained 7 sen to RM4.55, Petronas Chemicals added 10 sen to RM9.63, and IHH Healthcare advanced 15 sen to RM6.34.

Of the actives, Top Glove and Dagang NeXchange lost 3.5 sen each to 97.5 sen and 84 sen, respectively, while BCM Alliance perked up half-a-sen to three sen, LGMS climbed 1 sen to RM78 sen, and Yong Tai was flat at 8.5 sen. – June 16, 2022

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