KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4 — Bursa Malaysia had continued its upbeat momentum to finish higher today, supported by gains in selected heavyweights, led by Petronas Chemicals and KL Kepong.

At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.16 points or 0.22 per cent to 1,464.61, after opening 3.04 points better at 1,464.49.

Market breadth was positive with gainers outpacing losers 702 to 377, while 397 counters were unchanged, 665 untraded and 18 others suspended.

Total volume rose to 7.34 billion units worth RM3.36 billion from yesterday’s 6.45 billion units worth RM3.30 billion.

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim said Kuala Lumpur Kepong led the list of gainers among the 30 FBM KLCI constituents after jumping 2.7 per cent today, while Top Glove topped the losers list after declining 2.6 per cent.

Sector-wise, the construction index advanced by 1.7 per cent, making it the biggest gainer among the sectors on Bursa Malaysia ahead of the Budget 2021 tabling this Friday.

Meanwhile, the Malaysia REIT index was the only decliner for the day.

"While most sectors are up after pricing in a win for Joe Biden in the United States (US) presidential elections, the fight between the two candidates is really tight at the time of writing, especially with Donald Trump already claiming victory before the polls are finalised,” he told Bernama.

He said with Asian markets being the first to react to the US presidential election, the FBMKLCI could turn sideways if Trump were to retain power, while the ringgit might depreciate further to US$4.18.

"Otherwise, Asian markets could see a positive knee jerk reaction if Biden wins due to his softer tone with China,” he said.

At the time of writing, Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden is leading Republican nominee President Donald Trump in terms of electoral votes.

Another analyst said risk appetite remains on cautious mode despite the steady momentum across the board today, with trading in small- and mid-cap companies gaining traction.

She noted that the healthcare index, which rose 1.12 per cent today, have now gained global attention after demand spiked following the rising number of Covid-19 cases.

"Meanwhile, companies involved in the technology sector remains a favourite, in view of the solid performance on NASDAQ overnight,” she said.

Of other heavyweights, Maybank remained unchanged at RM7.00, Top Glove eased 22 sen to RM8.10, Hartalega gained eight sen to RM17.84, Petronas Chemicals added 13 sen to RM6.05 and KL Kepong bagged 58 sen to RM22.26.

Of the actives, AT Systematization increased two sen to 12 sen, Iris Corporation increased four sen to 30.5 sen, Key Alliance rose one sen to 6.5 sen and Netx Holdings increased 1.5 sen to 11.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index improved 42.21 points to 10,604.00, the FBMT 100 Index was 37.45 points better at 10,408.66 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 60.57 points to 12,731.32.

The FBM 70 went up 108.38 points to 13,923.00 and the FBM ACE was 332.36 points firmer at 10,092.17.

The Financial Services Index fell 0.04 of-a-point to 11,982.03, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 1.69 point better at 143.97 and the Plantation Index gained 63.59 points to 6,906.97.

The Main Market volume fell to 2.87 billion shares worth RM2.36 billion from yesterday’s 3.39 billion shares worth RM2.56 billion.

Warrants turnover decreased to 732.77 million units valued at RM148.77 million from 800.78 million units valued at RM166.31 million previously.

Volume on the ACE Market rose to 3.70 billion shares worth RM850.71 million compared with 2.26 billion shares worth RM574.48 million yesterday.

Consumer products and services accounted for 529.83 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (870.79 million), construction (157.01 million), technology (376.65 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (17.73 million), property (176.22 million), plantations (41.87 million), REITs (6.76 million), closed/fund (13,200), energy (216.77 million), healthcare (91.24 million), telecommunications and media (44.29 million), transportation and logistics (246.73 million), and utilities (90.82 million). — Bernama