LATE buying in selected heavyweights led by CIMB and Press Metal lifted Bursa Malaysia to end at its intraday high today, amid mixed performance on regional bourses, dealers said.
The two counters contributed a combined 5.70 points to the gains in the barometer index, the dealers said.
At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 7.06 points to 1,550.17, from 1,543.11 at Friday’s closed.
The index opened 0.27 of-a-point better at 1,543.38 and hit a low of 1,540.31 amid mixed market sentiment.
The overall market breadth however was slightly negative with decliners beating advancers 502 to 454, while 402 counters were unchanged, 915 untraded, and 21 others suspended.
Total turnover widened to 6.65 billion units worth RM2.38 bil versus 4.14 billion units valued at RM1.90 bil last Friday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said FBM KLCI ended higher as investors continued to bargain hunt particularly for glove and banking heavyweights.
“Key regional markets trended mostly higher despite negative cues from Wall Street on Friday, as traders continued to pick up stocks at a bargain after the recent sell-off.
“Nonetheless, some investors remain concerned on whether the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will raise rates at a time of slowing economic growth as a result of the rapidly spreading Omicron variant of the COVID-19,” he told Bernama today.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.03% to 28,478.56, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.08% to 23,746.54, Singapore’s Straits Times Index added 0.67% to 3,226.76, and South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.95% to 2,926.72.
On the domestic front, Thong said the FBM KLCI moved in a tight consolidation mode since early January as investors remained cautious due to heightened regional volatility.
“However, we reckon the index is well supported above the 1,530 level. We continue to maintain our cautiously optimistic view and expect bargain hunting activities to continue, while on the other hand, we remain cautious given the increasing risk amid the potential interest hike by the Fed in the US.
“As such, we expect the benchmark index to trade within the 1,540-1,560 range for the week. Technically, the immediate support is unchanged at 1,530 while resistance is at 1,570,” he added.
Among heavyweights, Maybank and Public Bank gained 2 sen each to RM8.34 and RM4.18, respectively, Petronas Chemicals garnered 11 sen to RM8.90, CIMB jumped 21 sen to RM5.67, IHH Healthcare trimmed 6 sen to RM6.68, while Press Metal surged 13 sen to RM5.88.
Of the actives, Fintec and XOX earned half-a-sen each to 1.5 sen and 3 sen, respectively, Trive Property added 5 sen to 13 sen, while MQ Technology advanced 1.5 sen to 12 sen. – Jan 10, 2022
