KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 15 —Bursa Malaysia maintained its positive momentum to close higher today supported by persistent buying in selected financial services and utilities counters amid mixed sentiments on the regional stock markets.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.28 points to 1,460.28 from 1,457.0 at yesterday’s close.

The barometer index opened 0.14 of-a-point easier at 1,456.86 and moved between 1,456.27 and 1,463.29 throughout the day.

On the broader market, gainers overwhelmed decliners 603 to 369 while 402 counters were unchanged, 966 untraded and 13 others suspended.

Turnover improved to 3.87 billion units worth RM2.12 billion from 3.53 billion units worth RM1.89 billion yesterday.

Public Bank and Tenaga Nasional were the top two contributors towards the local benchmark index uptrend, rising 6.0 sen and 9.0 sen to RM4.21 and RM9.89 respectively, with a combined contribution of 2.77 points.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said key regional indices showed mixed trends after China reported lower consumer and business activity in July, while China’s central bank also lowered a critical interest rate to support the economy.

Additionally, he told Bernama that concerns about the potential resurgence of prices in the United States continue to be on people’s minds, with rising gasoline costs adding to the problems for the upcoming months.

"Back home, we believe the market undertone will remain stable despite a weak regional performance, given the political stability in the country and continuous inflow of foreign funds. At the same time, we believe oil and gas (O&G) stocks will persist as a short-term play, with Brent crude oil staying above US$80 per barrel.

"We maintain our FBM KLCI target for the week at circa 1,450-1,470 range with immediate resistance at 1,490 and support at 1,440,” he said.

Among other heavyweights, Maybank, CIMB and CelcomDigi added 3.0 sen each to RM9.03, RM5.68 and RM4.41, IHH Healthcare went up 1.0 sen to RM6 while Petronas Chemicals slipped 3.0 sen to RM6.80.

Among the actives, Classita fell 1.0 sen to 7.5 sen, Sapura Energy was flat at 5.5 sen, ACE Market debutant Glostrext gained 6.5 sen to 25.5 sen and MyEG added 2.0 sen to 79.5 sen. — Bernama