KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 1 — Kuala Lumpur shares closed on a strong note today in sync with the buoyant regional markets as sentiment was boosted by bullish Chinese data and continued hope for Covid-19 vaccine.
At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) surged 2.5 per cent or 39.55 points to 1,602.26, led mainly by financial services, industrial products and services, as well as plantation sectors.
The index opened 17.46 points stronger at 1,580.17 compared with yesterday’s close of 1,562.71.
It moved between 1,580.17 and 1,604.57 throughout the day.
On the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 760 to 479 while 432 counters were unchanged, 437 untraded and 16 others suspended.
Volume increased to 9.19 billion units worth RM5.35 billion from 9.02 billion units worth RM7.71 billion yesterday.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim said China’s factory activity accelerated at the fastest pace in a decade in November, and this was poised to help factories across the region to steadily recover from the Covid-19 crisis.
He said Petronas Chemicals took the lead among the 30 companies listed on FBM KLCI, with a 9.3 per cent gains, while Top Glove led laggards with a 4.6 per cent drop amid news that the company was expected to be charged for flouting the regulations on workers’ accommodation.
China’s manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) jumped to 52.1 in November from 51.4 a month earlier due to more domestic new orders and an increase in raw material prices.
Locally, IHS Markit reported that Malaysia’s PMI recorded a fourth successive monthly contraction at 48.4 in November.
“On a sectoral basis, Bursa Malaysia Industrial Products and Services index gained the most at 4.02 per cent while REITs (Real Estate Investment Trust) saw the largest drop by 0.67 per cent, followed by healthcare at 0.63 per cent,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, it was reported that OPEC and allies have postponed their output talks to Dec 3.
At press time, both Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate traded on a positive note at US$48.18 and US$45.59 per barrel.
Regionally, Singapore’s Straits Times Index added 0.29 per cent to 2,814.12, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was 0.86 per cent better at 26,567.68 and Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.34 per cent to 26,787.54.
Back home, Petronas Chemicals climbed 60 sen to RM7.02, Tenaga Nasional was up 78 sen to RM10.86, Maybank put on 29 sen to RM8.19, Public Bank rose 52 sen to RM17.92 and Axiata increased 23 sen to RM3.78.
In contrast, Top Glove lost 33 sen to RM6.79 and Petronas Gas dipped 36 sen to RM17.80.
Among the actives, AT Systematization rose one sen to 21 sen, Pegasus added half-a-sen to 3.5 sen and BioAlpha gained 4.5 sen to 35.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index expanded 234.76 points to 11,569.63, the FBMT 100 Index climbed 232.04 points to 11,332.78 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 224.76 points to 13,372.13.
The FBM 70 rose 119.62 points to 14,948.54 and the FBM ACE added 70.30 points to 10,771.91.
Meanwhile, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 6.48 points to 167.12, the Plantation Index was 133.55 points higher at 7,350.28 and the Financial Services Index surged 404.07 points to 14,208.28.
The Main Market volume decreased slightly to 5.48 billion shares worth RM4.19 billion from 5.49 billion shares worth RM6.57 billion yesterday.
Warrants turnover shrank to 634.31 million units worth RM128.23 million from 798.72 million units worth RM150.37 million.
Volume on the ACE Market increased to 3.07 billion shares worth RM1.02 billion from 2.72 billion shares worth RM981.18 million previously.
Consumer products and services accounted for 539.84 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (1.6 billion), construction (426.65 million), technology (199.87 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (119.71 million), property (1.02 billion), plantations (159.84 million), REITs (5.7 million), closed/fund (8,100), energy (645.83 million), healthcare (149 million), telecommunications and media (55.3 million), transportation and logistics (373.49 million), and utilities (147.56 million). — Bernama
