CONTINUED buying support in selected heavyweights led by Press Metal and Sime Darby Plantation pushed Bursa Malaysia to end at an intra-day high, in line with positive performance in regional markets, dealers said.
The two counters contributed combined 7.62 points to the increase in the barometer index.
At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 16.10 points or 1.07% to end at 1,516.42 compared with 1,500.32 at Wednesday’s close.
The index opened 0.51 of-a-point weaker at 1,499.81, the lowest level for the day.
On the broader market, gainers thumped losers 448 to 353, while 424 counters were unchanged, 1,077 untraded, and 16 others suspended.
Turnover declined to 1.99 billion units valued at RM1.38 bil from Wednesday’s 3.12 billion units worth RM1.6 bil.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Malaysian equities continued to trend higher on bargain-hunting, as well as window-dressing activities.
“Key regional markets also ended higher as investors shrugged off fear of Omicron spread, while overnight rally on the US market gave more assurance in overall sentiment,” he told Bernama.
Back home, he said the FBM KLCI broke its resistance of 1,515 and was expected to test the 1,530 level, given improved sentiment both local and regionally.
“Despite the heightened market volatility, we expect some bargain-hunting activities to continue, given the cheap valuations of the local market compared to regional peers, and the benchmark index to trade within range of between 1,515 and 1,525 towards the weekend.
“On technical point of view, we shall see immediate support at 1,500 while resistance at 1,530,” he added.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.83% to 28,798.37, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.40% to 23,193.64, Singapore’s Straits Times Index advanced 0.17% to 3,092.63, and South Korea’s Kospi added 0.46% to 2,998.17.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank rose 3 sen to RM8.25, Public Bank improved 4 sen to RM4.14, while Petronas Chemicals and CIMB slipped 2 sen each to RM8.75 and RM5.36, respectively, and IHH Healthcare was flat at RM6.55.
Of the actives, AT Syatematization and Nexgram were flat at 3.5 sen and 1.5 sen, respectively, ATA IMS earned half-a-sen to 72 sen, while Saudee Group eased half-a-sen to 5.5 sen. – Dec 23, 2021
