LAST-minute buying in selected heavyweights led by financial services and utilities stocks helped to lift the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) marginally to end at its intraday high today, a dealer said.
However, on the broader market, losers thumped gainers 531 to 300, while 397 counters were unchanged, 1,068 untraded, and 26 others suspended.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI rose 3.42 points to its intraday high of 1,469.22, from last Friday’s close of 1,465.80.
The index, which opened 2.02 points easier at 1,463.78, hit a low of 1,461.28 during the mid-morning session before gaining momentum from the mid-afternoon session towards the end of trading.
Total turnover declined to 2.01 billion units worth RM1.12 bil from 2.05 billion units worth RM1.55 bil last Friday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI closed marginally higher due to late buying after a roller-coaster session amid mixed sentiment in regional markets.
“Regionally, key indices trended mostly lower following heavy selling on Wall Street last Friday.
“Investors are cautiously awaiting this week’s policy decision from the United State’s Federal Reserve,” he told Bernama.
As for the local bourse, Thong said sentiments are improving, thanks to the continuous buying support from foreign funds.
“We expect the buying to continue after the FBM KLCI has broken the 1,460 resistance level, while at present valuation, the benchmark index remains attractive as compared to its regional peers.
“As such, we anticipate the index to move within the 1,460 to 1485 range for the week with immediate resistance at 1,500 and support at 1,430,” he said.
Among the heavyweights, Public Bank added 5 sen to RM4.62, Hong Leong Bank gained 18 sen to RM20.58, Petronas Chemicals edged up 4 sen to RM8.64, while Maybank fell 1 sen to RM8.80, and IHH Healthcare shed 3 sen to RM6.45.
Of the actives, Dolphin International slid 1.5 sen to 3 sen, MyEG went down 3 sen to 74 sen, Metronic Global added half-a-sen to 9 sen, while both Top Glove and Borneo Oil were flat at 99.5 sen and 2.5 sen, respectively. – July 25, 2022
