BURSA Malaysia closed higher today driven by buying mainly in industrial products and services, as well as technology and plantations counters, amid mixed sentiments in the regional markets, a dealer said.
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 13.34 points, or 0.93%, to 1,450.32 from Wednesday’s close of 1,436.98.
The barometer index, which opened 4.18 points higher at 1,441.16, moved between 1,440.05 and 1,451.33 throughout the day.
Petronas Chemicals Group, Press Metal Aluminium Holdings and Sime Darby Plantation lifted the composite index by 4.39 points after the counters rose by 17 sen to RM8.72, 9 sen to RM4.39 and 7 sen to RM4.26, respectively.
On the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 589 to 301, while 396 counters were unchanged, 1,002 untraded, and eight others suspended.
However, total turnover shrank to 2.13 billion units worth RM1.38 bil from 2.47 billion units valued at RM1.41 bil on Wednesday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said regionally, key indices trended mixed as investors were anxious ahead of the key European Central Bank (ECB) monetary policy meeting.
“Meanwhile, the Asian Development Bank downgraded its growth forecasts for developing Asia for this year and next, reflecting the economic fallout from Russia’s war in Ukraine and aggressive tightening by global central banks to tame inflation escalated recession fears.
“As for the local bourse, we are cautious over the heightened regional volatility. We expect some profit-taking to emerge,” he told Bernama.
Hence, Thong anticipates the FBM KLCI to trend sideways within the 1,440 to 1,455 range towards the weekend with immediate support at 1,410 and resistance at 1,460.
Among other heavyweights, Maybank gained 10 sen to RM8.70, Public Bank rose 1 sen to RM4.44, IHH Healthcare improved 4 sen to RM6.47, CIMB Group added 7 sen to RM5.16, and Tenaga Nasional Bhd improved 6 sen to RM7.98.
Of the actives, Focus Dynamics Group added half-a-sen to 2.5 sen, Top Glove perked up 1 sen to RM1, Dagang NeXchange climbed 1.5 sen to 76.5 sen, while MMAG Holdings was half-a-sen lower at 4.5 sen, and Bintai Kinden Corporation slid 1.5 sen to 10.5 sen. – July 21, 2022
