BURSA Malaysia ended sharply higher to close at its intra-day high on New Year’s Eve, after wallowing in the red all day, owing primarily to bargain-hunting activities in the final hour of trading, a dealer said.
As at 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) soared 23.92 points or 1.55% to end at 1,567.53 compared with 1,543.61 at yesterday’s close.
The index opened 0.62 of-a-point weaker at 1,542.99 this morning, stayed in the red territory throughout the day, hit a low of 1,531.81 before rebounding to 1,567.53 10 minutes before closing.
On the broader market, gainers led losers 479 to 413 while 416 counters were unchanged, 982 untraded, and 31 others suspended.
Turnover rose to 2.52 billion units valued at RM1.86 bil from Thursday’s 2.24 billion units valued at RM1.51 bil.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the company expected bargain-hunting activities to continue given the improving market sentiment.
“The confirmation of a RM1,000 cap on stamp duty is certainly good news for the local bourse and we expect this should boost overall trading activities. On the other hand, we remain cautious given the heightened market volatility and still unresolved COVID-19 pandemic,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, key regional markets closed mixed following the overnight sell down on Wall Street and trading activity was also somewhat subdued as some traders looked to get a head start on New Year’s festivities.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.40% to 28,791.71, South Korea’s KOSPI fell 0.52% to 2,977.65, Singapore’s Strait Times Index was down 0.09% to 3,123.68, but Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.24% to 23,397.67.
Among heavyweights, IHH added 56 sen to RM7.34, Axiata gained 31 sen to RM4.16, Maxis rose 36 sen to RM4.85, and Digi was 32 sen better at RM4.36.
Other heavyweights, Maybank was flat at RM8.30, Public Bank perked up one sen to RM4.16, Petronas Chemicals was 13 sen better at RM8.92, and CIMB gained four sen to RM5.45.
Of the actives, XOX and AT Systematization were unchanged at three sen respectively, SMTrack added 1.5 sen to 19 sen, Airasia warrant jumped 20.5 sen to 21 sen, but BSL Corp warrant shed half-a-sen to 20 sen. – Dec 31, 2021
