KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 25 — Bursa Malaysia closed on a positive note across the board today as political uncertainty subsided following several key announcements, including the appointment of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as the interim prime minister.
This was following the chaotic political scenario over the weekend and yesterday, which culminated in Dr Mahathir resigning as the prime minister, which led to the end of the Pakatan Harapan coalition and the dissolution of the cabinet.
At the close, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 0.73 per cent or 10.82 points higher at 1,500.88, just a whisker above the 1,500 psychological support level, compared with yesterday’s close of 1,490.06.
Throughout the day, the index moved between 1,481.46 and 1,503.30 after opening at 1,481.46, which is its intraday low.
On the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 531 to 380 with 407 unchanged, 685 untraded and 21 counters suspended.
Turnover, meanwhile, shrank to 3.10 billion shares worth RM2.75 billion compared with yesterday’s 4.03 billion shares worth RM3.90 billion.
An analyst said the stock market’s uptrend was due to the calmer waters on the political front whereby majority of the parties represented by the Members of Parliament (MPs) have vouched their support for Dr Mahathir to remain as the prime minister.
“Be it allies or foes from the opposite side, majority has voiced their support to Dr Mahathir. This shows that the country is led by a leader who has the MPs’ confidence. This has calmed investors as there is now light at the end of this political scenario,” she said.
Meanwhile, Istana Negara’s announcement that Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah will meet all 222 MPs today and tomorrow was a clear indication that the country’s political impasse is nearing its end.
On the economic side, the announcement by former Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng had indicated that the government is ready to launch the stimulus package to address the Covid-19 concerns, despite the current political scenario.
“This has lifted market sentiments and eases business concerns,” she said.
In a statement today, Lim said that Dr Mahathir has indicated that the economic stimulus package will go ahead on a date to be announced by him in his capacity as the interim prime minister.
On the technical analysis, she said that the support level for FBM KLCI now stands at 1,490 with the immediate resistance at 1,510.
“The key index have reached at almost a nine-year low, which will trigger bargain hunting in near future,” she said.
Among index-linked heavyweights, Maybank added eight sen to RM8.28, Tenaga Nasional increased 16 sen to RM12.30, Public Bank gained 12 sen to RM17.52, Petronas Chemicals inched up four sen to RM6.40 and IHH rose nine sen to RM5.69.
Axiata perked up seven sen to RM4.21, CIMB Group climbed four sen to RM4.90 and Sime Darby Plantation ticked up six sen to RM4.96.
Consumer products and services counters led the top gainers with Carlsberg rising RM2.24 to RM37.20, F&N put on RM1.06 to RM31.36, British American Tobacco rose 68 sen to RM14.64, and Heineken increased 64 sen to RM29.00.
As for actives, XOX, DGB and MyEG all added one sen to six sen, 5.5 sen and RM1.23 respectively.
On the index board, almost all indices closed positive with the FBM Emas Index rising 89.41 points to 10,735.51 points, while the FBMT 100 Index increased 87.26 points to 10,525.63 and the FBM Ace gained 47.54 points to 5,695.68.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 102.22 points to 11,427.19 and the FBM 70 jumped 158.86 points to 13,560.07.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.48 of-a-point to 143.46, the Financial Services Index leapt 78.24 points to 14,399.86 and the Plantation Index advanced 24.01 points to 6,939.55.
Main Market volume decreased to 1.84 billion shares worth RM2.43 billion from 2.82 billion shares worth RM3.62 billion yesterday.
Warrants turnover declined to 451.93 million units worth RM81.78 million compared with 455.79 million units worth RM71.39 million.
Volume on the ACE Market expanded to 826.60 million units worth RM243.35 million compared with 752.43 million units worth RM204.35 million yesterday.
Consumer products and services accounted for 423.40 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (245.16 million), construction (110.38 million), technology (233.71 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (52.96 million), property (136.31 million), plantations (37.29 million), REITs (20.74 million), closed/fund (1,100), energy (358.55 million), healthcare (71.41 million), telecommunications and media (57.55 million), transportation and logistics (37.82 million), and utilities (60.65 million). — Bernama
