BURSA Malaysia snapped a three-day losing streak to end higher today as bargain hunting emerged in selected heavyweights, led by Hong Leong Bank, Petronas Chemicals, and Sime Darby Plantation.
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) expanded 0.99%, or 15.46 points, to 1,562.33 from 1,546.87 at Tuesday’s close.
The barometer index, which opened 3.45 points better at 1,550.32, moved between 1,543.91 and 1,568 throughout the session today.
Overall market breadth was positive with gainers beating decliners 799 to 272, while 344 counters were unchanged, 858 untraded, and 11 others suspended.
Total turnover shrank to 3.5 billion units worth RM3.51 bil against 3.96 billion units worth RM3.77 bil at yesterday’s close.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the reopening of Malaysia’s borders on April 1, 2022 lifted market sentiment.
However, he said key regional markets trended mixed due to cautious sentiment after broadly negative cues overnight from Wall Street, amid the continued spike in crude oil prices.
“Investors are cautious of further inflationary pressures as China’s February consumer price index data came in at 0.6%, much higher than the market estimates and the prior figure of 0.3%,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, Japan has reported quarterly gross domestic product growth of 1.1%, which came in lower than the market expectation of 1.4%.
“Back home, we expect market sentiment to remain cautious due to the increasing market volatility and external uncertainties,” he said.
He anticipated the FBM KLCI to hover within the 1,550-1,570 range for the remaining of the week with immediate support at 1,550 and resistance at 1,570.
Bursa Malaysia heavyweights Hong Leong Bank added 30 sen to RM19.90, Petronas Chemicals gained 27 sen to RM9.97, Sime Darby Plantation rose 25 sen to RM5.30, Maybank crept up 1 sen to RM8.81 and Public Bank expanded 10 sen to RM4.40.
As for the actives, SMTrack lost 2 sen to 8.5 sen, DNex firmed 11.5 sen to RM1.05, Dataprep bagged 10 sen to 36.5 sen, Vinvest Capital inched up 1 sen to 25.5 sen and Hibiscus Petroleum recovered 3 sen to RM1.34. – March 9, 2022
