BURSA Malaysia closed higher today, supported by persistent buying in selected heavyweights as the market reacted positively to the domestic economic development, dealers said.
The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 6.93 points to end the day at 1,496.73 compared with Friday’s close of 1,489.80.
The market bellwether, which opened 1.96 points better at 1,491.76, fluctuated between 1,491.76 and 1,497.20 throughout the day.
Market breadth was positive with gainers leading losers 520 to 449, while 459 counters were unchanged, 767 untraded and 11 others suspended.
Turnover decreased to 3.68 billion units worth RM2.20 bil from 4.29 billion units valued at RM2.53 bil on Friday.
A dealer said investors gained confidence after Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced the relaxation of standard operating procedure (SOP) for fully vaccinated citizens, which was positive for the market, especially for recovery-theme sectors.
Regionally, he said that Asian markets rebounded from early losses on Monday as the sharp dip in gold and oil prices briefly spooked investors.
Investors’ sentiment was shaken by a sudden drop in gold prices as a break of US$1,750 an ounce triggered stop-loss sales, taking it to as low as US$1,684 an ounce, he said.
“Meanwhile, oil benchmark Brent crude fell by 2% on concerns that the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19 would temper travel demand.
“Holidays in Tokyo and Singapore made for thin trading conditions, adding to the volatility,” he said.
Another dealer said that investors were still assessing whether the strong United States (US) payroll report last Friday would take the US Federal Reserve a step nearer to winding back on its stimulus.
Back home, heavyweights Maybank and Public Bank added 2 sen each to RM8 and RM3.96, respectively, Petronas Chemicals increased 1 sen to RM8 and TNB jumped 7 sen to RM9.68, while IHH Healthcare improved 5 sen to RM5.79.
Among the actives, Dagang NeXchange, Saudee and Kejuruteraan Asastera slipped 1 sen each to 81.5 sen, 8 sen and 54.5 sen, respectively, while Avillion went up 2 sen to 16 sen.
The market will be closed on Tuesday in conjunction with Awal Muharram public holiday and trading will resume on Wednesday (Aug 11). – Aug 9, 2021
