Bursa Malaysia extended yesterday’s gains to end higher today, supported by buying demand in selected industrial products and services as well as telecommunications and media counters amid cautious sentiment on regional bourses, dealers said.
Press Metal and Telekom Malaysia were the top two gainers, putting on 14 sen to RM5.44 and 26 sen to RM4.97, respectively, and contributed a total of 3.68 points to the gains in the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI).
At 5pm, the benchmark index rose 5.59 points, or 0.36%, to 1,541.15 from Wednesday’s close of 1,535.56, after moving between 1,535.89 and 1,541.75 throughout the day.
The FBM KLCI opened 4.16 points higher at 1,539.72.
However, market breadth was negative with decliners outpacing advancers 557 to 406, while 364 counters were unchanged, 986 untraded, and 31 others suspended.
Total turnover rose to 2.89 billion units worth RM1.92 bil from 2.34 billion units worth RM1.80 bil on Wednesday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI moved higher as investors continued to bargain hunt for stocks at reduced levels after the recent heavy selldown.
“Regionally, the key indices closed mixed as investors remained wary of the economic impact of China’s ongoing COVID-19 lockdowns. Meanwhile, the Bank of Korea’s announcement of a 25-basis points increase in its base rate to 1.75 per cent would add some pressure on equities valuations.
“As for the local bourse, we believe the market is oversold (earlier), however, we advise investors to stay alert on the increasing market volatility and external uncertainties. We anticipate the benchmark index to remain sideways within the range of 1,535-1,545 towards the weekend, with immediate support at 1,520 and resistance at 1,560,” he told Bernama today.
Regionally, Singapore’s Straits Times Index added 0.93% to 3,209.28, Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.27% to 26,604.84, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.27% to 20,116.20, South Korea’s KOSPI decreased 0.18% to 2,612.45, and China’s SSE Composite Index gained 0.50 to 3,123.11.
Back home, heavyweights, Maybank and TNB added 2 sen each to RM8.96 and RM9.21, respectively, Public Bank advanced 5 sen to RM4.60, IHH Healthcare went up 6 sen to RM6.49, while Petronas Chemicals slipped 6 sen to RM9.87.
Of the actives, Serba Dinamik and Cypark increased 1.5 sen each to 11.5 sen and 39.5 sen, respectively, Cnergenz rose 10.5 sen to 67.5 sen, while Sapura Energy declined 1 sen to 7.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM ACE increased 15.06 points to 5,205.98, the FBM Emas Shariah Index went up 20.90 points to 11,353.82, the FBM Emas Index improved 35.09 points to 10,984.54, the FBMT 100 Index climbed 42.66 points to 10,675.81, and the FBM 70 put on 68.52 points to 13,088.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.88 of-a-point higher at 198.34, the Plantation Index slid 79.55 points to 7,988.69, and the Financial Services Index rose 94.18 points to 16,589.91. – May 26, 2022
