BURSA Malaysia continued its upward trajectory to end higher today, driven by buying support in selected heavyweights led by banking, plantation as well as oil and gas counters.
At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 4.57 points or 0.28% to 1,598.32 from Wednesday’s close of 1,593.75.
The index opened 4.64 points firmer at 1,598.39 and moved between 1,594.13 and 1,599.91 throughout the day.
On the broader market, gainers led losers 518 to 445, with 416 counters unchanged, 894 untraded, and 16 others suspended.
Total turnover decreased to 2.84 billion units worth RM2.03 bill from 3.11 billion units worth RM2.60 bil on Wednesday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the key regional markets were mixed in choppy trading, as investors adopted a wait-and-see approach to see if the decline in US’ Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 indices overnight were just a one-day affair or will extend for some days.
“On the domestic front, we believe the performance of local bourse will remain steady as foreign funds continue to accumulate local equities, although we do not discount the possibility of intermittent correction,” he told Bernama.
Thong also expects the FBM KLCI to move within the 1,595-1,610 range towards the weekend.
Regionally, the Singapore Straits Times Index added 0.39% to 3,348.46, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.23% to 27,553.06, South Korea’s Kospi increased 0.35% to 2,728.21, while Shanghai’s SSE Composite fell 2.26% to 3,079.81, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dipped 1.25% to 20,682.22.
On the local bourse, heavyweights Maybank and Petronas Chemicals added 8 sen each to RM8.88 and RM10.38, respectively, Public Bank rose 2 sen to RM4.67, IHH Healthcare improved 2 sen to RM6.54 and Press Metal climbed 4 sen to RM6.59.
Of the actives, MNC Wireless, VIzione, Sapura Energy, and Ta Win rose half-a-sen each to 3 sen, 10.5 sen, 4.5 sen, and 16 sen, respectively, while Tanco added 3.5 sen to 35.5 sen. – April 21, 2022
