KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 28 — Bursa Malaysia extended gains for the second consecutive day today, with the key index ending at an intra-day high, supported by persistent buying momentum in index-linked counters.

At the close, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 15.3 points to 1,826.9 after hitting a low of 1,811.13 at one point.

A dealer said Bursa Malaysia rallied sharply in the afternoon session.

Among major contributors to the rise in the composite index were Petronas Chemicals, which rose 20 sen to RM9.70, Axiata chalked up 17 sen to RM4.82, CIMB bagged 12 sen to RM6.08, and Hong Leong Bank soared 40 sen to RM20.30.

JF Apex Securities Head of Research, Lee Chung Cheng, said sentiment in the local market was bullish and in tandem with regional peers, which staged broadly higher performances following the US-Mexico trade deal.

Yesterday, US President Donald Trump announced that the country and Mexico  had agreed to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement, to make the deal "much more fair” for both countries.

This positive development sparked buying spree in Asian equities with investors hoping the deal could boost global trade outlook, another dealer said.  

Regionally, the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 0.68 per cent to 3,247.55, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index improved 0.28 per cent to 28,351.62 and Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.06 per cent to 22,813.47.

Back home, on the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 534 to 408 with 393 counters unchanged, 562 untraded and 56 others suspended.

Volume slipped to 2.57 billion units worth RM2.29 billion from yesterday’s 2.75 billion units valued at RM2.02 billion.

Of the heavyweights, Maybank bagged seven sen to RM10.00, Public Bank gained two sen to RM25.00, while Tenaga was flat at RM15.72.

Among actives, Sapura Energy lost 2.5 sen to 35 sen, XoX inched up half-a-sen to eight sen, Ucrest was 2.5 sen better at 34 sen while Hibiscus increased three sen to RM1.10.

The FBM Emas Index chalked up 63.29 points to 12,814.34, the FBMT 100 Index advanced 66.7 points to 12,610.16 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index put on 74.45 points to 12,958.41.

The FBM 70 lost 65.34 points to 15,354.89, while the FBM Ace Index erased 18.36 points to 5,382.71.

Sector-wise, the Finance Index surged 139.15 points to 17,890.72, the Industrial Index added 4.81 points to 3,248.77, and the Plantation Index improved 15.72 points to 7,606.3.

Main Market volume narrowed slightly to 1.54 billion shares worth RM2.04 billion from yesterday’s 1.74 billion shares valued at RM1.79 billion.

Warrants turnover decreased to 446.35 million units worth RM145.78 million against 484.92 million units valued at RM139.44 million previously.

Volume on the ACE Market, however, increased to 583.52 million shares worth RM109.94 million versus yesterday’s 531.48 million shares valued at RM95.66 million.

Consumer products accounted for 100.21 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products (355.57 million), construction (88.31 million), trade and services (689.88 million), technology (113.54 million), infrastructure (13.65 million), SPAC (348,300), finance (58.67 million), hotels (1.94 million), properties (98.02 million), plantations (14.3 million), mining (20,500), REITs (7.05 million), and closed/fund (9,000). — Bernama