KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 ― Bursa Malaysia closed higher today for the ninth consecutive day with small-capitalised (cap) as well as mid-sized cap conventional and shariah-related stocks being the flavour of the day among traders, amid mixed regional bourses’ performance, said a dealer.

At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) finished at 1,759.24, up 6.17 points, from Wednesday’s close of 1,753.07.

The barometer index moved between 1,754.18 and 1,764.15 throughout the day.

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist, Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the market continued to rebound in tandem with the US market.

Dr Mohd Afzanizam told Bernama that at yesterday’s closing, foreign investors were net buyers, signalling that Malaysian equities have been quite attractive from a valuation standpoint.

“At this juncture, the FBM KLCI has surpassed its previous resistance level of 1,748 points and perhaps now it is moving towards the next resistance level of around 1,778 points,” said Dr Mohd Afzanizam.

He said the ringgit is obviously undervalued, and there is always a reason for foreign investors to come into the local bourse.

“The only concern is on the earnings prospects amid uncertainty from external developments namely the trade tensions as well as the potential rate hikes in the US,” he said.

Regionally, Singapore's Straits Times rose 1.21 per cent to 3,279.67, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.38 per cent to 28,010.86, and China's SSE Composite Index eased 0.53 per cent to 2,772.55.   

Back home, market breadth was positive with gainers outpacing losers 640 to 323 with 419 counters unchanged, 544 untraded and 17 others suspended.

Volume increased to 3.49 billion units valued at RM3.02 billion, from 2.63 billion units valued at RM2.17 billion recorded yesterday.

KESM Industries led the gainers’ list today, putting on 58 sen to RM17.28, while Hong Leong Bank was the biggest decliner, giving up 38 sen to RM18.50.

Of the heavyweights, Maybank added 21 sen to RM9.81, Public Bank rose 20 sen to RM23.90, Tenaga improved four sen to RM14.92, CIMB gained one sen to RM5.86 while Petronas Chemicals declined five sen to RM8.80.

Among actives, Ekovest rose 7.5 sen to 72 sen, Iskandar Waterfront City gained 17.5 sen to 74.5 sen, MyEG improved 11 sen to RM1.12, MRCB added three sen to 71 sen, while Priceworth was flat at nine sen.

The FBM Emas Index chalked up 66.02 points to 12,442.24, the FBM70 rose 126.5 points to 15,250.14, the FBMT100 Index improved 57.52 points to 12,236.26, the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 69.09 points to 12,536.16, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Small Cap Index added 221.09 points to 14,475.23 but the FBM Ace Index declined 18.86 points to 5,388.71.

Sector-wise, the Finance Index rose 100.52 points to 17,350.77, the Industrial Index bagged 9.79 points to 3,219.97, and the Plantation Index was 0.35 of-a-point higher at 7,493.19.

Main Market volume increased to 2.31 billion shares valued at RM2.72 billion, from 1.46 billion shares valued at RM1.81 billion registered yesterday.

Warrants turnover was higher at 695.2 million units valued at RM166.36 million, versus yesterday's 538.64 million units valued at RM144.11 million.

Volume on the ACE Market trimmed to 479.42 million shares valued at RM136.09 million, from 625.77 million shares valued at RM213.29 million recorded yesterday.

Consumer products accounted for 70.85 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products (352.26 million), construction (501.26 million), trade and services (759.63 million), technology (74.3 million), infrastructure (15.93 million), SPAC (2.25 million), finance (74.28 million), hotels (1.86 million), properties (428.73 million), plantations (30.41 million), mining (19,000), REITs (4.49 million) and closed/fund (nil). ― Bernama