BURSA Malaysia closed higher Friday as the market gradually regained momentum due to signs of global economic recovery and some optimism over the US-China relations.
At 5 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 3.69 points to 1,601.42 points from yesterday’s close of 1,597.73 points.
The index opened 1.01 points better at 1,598.74 and moved between 1,593.24 and 1,603.01 throughout the session.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim said global economic recovery became the focal point among investors as the US Labour Department data showed claims for unemployment benefits dropped to a one-year low for the week ended March 19 2021.
This indicates that the world’s biggest economy is on the pathway to higher growth as the public health situation improves.
On the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 696 to 345, while 461 counters were unchanged, 730 untraded and 45 others suspended.
Total volume fell to 5.96 billion shares valued at RM3.24 bil from 6.01 billion shares valued at RM3.04 bil on Thursday. – March 26, 2021
