.JPG "An investor monitors the stock prices in the gallery of the RHB Investment Bank Bhd headquarters in Kuala Lumpur March 17, 2020. u00e2u20acu2022 Picture by Hari Anggara")
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 3 — Continued optimism over COVID-19 vaccine and improved risk-appetite saw Bursa Malaysia ending at a more than 15-month high.
At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) jumped 29.54 points to 1,628.26, with gains seen practically across the board.
The index opened 2.41 points higher at 1,601.13 from Wednesday’s close of 1,598.72.
It moved between 1,628.26 and 1,599.36 throughout the day.
On the broader market, gainers trumped losers 907 to 401, while 410 counters were unchanged, 416 untraded and 25 others suspended.
Volume increased to 12.37 billion units worth RM6.17 billion from 9.22 billion units worth RM5.43 billion yesterday.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim said much of the optimism came from news that Britain has become the first Western country to approve a COVID-19 vaccine; with 800,000 doses of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine to be available for those at high risk starting next week.
Among FBM KLCI constituents, Telekom Malaysia led gainers with a 6.8 per cent jump, while Petronas Gas led the laggards with a 1.2 per cent drop.
“On a sectoral basis, the Bursa Malaysia energy index gained the most as it rose 4.2 per cent today ahead of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) meeting to decide on the future volume of the oil production cuts following days of deadlocked talks,” he told Bernama.
Adam said a last minute push saw the healthcare index moving into positive territory with marginal gains.
Meanwhile, an analyst said China’s service sector’s positive data and a possible revival of the United States (US) stimulus talks also helped boost sentiments.
The Caixin China services purchasing managers index rose to 57.8 in November from 56.8 in October, pointing to a further recovery of business activity in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was also reported that top US Democrats expressed support for the US$908 billion stimulus proposal from a bipartisan group of senators.
On another note, the analyst said there were also strong buying interests seen in construction and property-related stocks amidst news on the implementation of construction projects.
At the close, twenty-five of the top 30 companies listed on FBM KLCI were in positive territory, led by Public Bank which gained 66 sen to RM18.60 and Petronas Chemicals which added 29 sen to RM7.32.
Axiata rose 14 sen to RM3.84, Tenaga Nasional increased 20 sen to RM11, RHB Bank was 31 sen higher at RM5.65 and Telekom Malaysia jumped 34 sen to RM5.37.
Among the actives, Bintai Kinden surged 29.5 sen to RM1.14, while Yong Tai went up 12.5 sen to 29.5 sen and Kanger International expanded half-a-sen to 17.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index expanded 196.32 points to 11,757.84, the FBMT 100 Index climbed 194.04 points to 11,512.14 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 207.22 points to 13,537.48.
The FBM 70 added 197.64 points to 15,167.38 and the FBM ACE increased 165.60 points to 10,738.72.
Meanwhile, the Industrial Products and Services Index rose 4.60 points to 172.95, the Plantation Index went up 35.03 points to 7,374.15 and the Financial Services Index increased 252.29 points to 14,547.87.
The Main Market volume appreciated to 8.72 billion shares worth RM5.17 billion from 5.17 billion shares worth RM4.36 billion on Wednesday.
Warrants turnover dropped to 702.15 million units worth RM119.86 million from 715.58 million units worth RM135.41 yesterday.
Volume on the ACE Market decreased to 2.95 billion shares worth RM878.55 million from 3.34 billion shares worth RM935.06 million previously.
Consumer products and services accounted for 813.6 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (2.4 billion), construction (1.2 billion), technology (460.2 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (95.2 million), property (1.5 billion), plantations (102 million), REITs (13.8 million), closed/fund (134,800), energy (1.5 billion), healthcare (61.8 million), telecommunications and media (115.5 million), transportation and logistics (292.7 million), and utilities (131.6 million). — Bernama
