KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 7 — Bursa Malaysia closed marginally higher with the market bellwether struggling to hold on to its narrow gains as the investors’ risk appetite was influenced by mixed market sentiments, dealers said.

At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 1.04 points to 1,622.89 after moving between 1,618.98 and 1,627.59 throughout the day.

The barometer index was largely lifted by gains in Petronas Chemicals which contributed 3.271 points after the oil and gas stock rose 21 sen to RM7.60 with 3.79 million shares changing hands.

A dealer said despite a downgrade on the country’s sovereign rating by Fitch, sentiment in the local bourse was supported by the positive external environment brought about by the encouraging export data from China and bullish overnight Wall Street performance.

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He said China’s export in November rose 21.1 per cent year-on-year, beating analysts’ expectations of a 12 per cent increase and quickened from a 11.4 per cent hike in October.

The growth was the fastest pace recorded since February 2018, on the back of recovery in factory activities, coupled with strong global demand, especially for personal protective equipment and electronics devices to cater for working from home, he added.

Speaking to Bernama today, the dealer also said the relaxation of the Conditional Movement Control Order measures and the assurance of COVID-19 vaccine supply in Malaysia next year had also sparked a fresh feel good factors in the local market.

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This, however, led to losses among rubber glove makers — Top Glove erased five sen to RM6.60, Hartalega gave up six sen for RM14.44, Supermax eased four sen to RM7.70 and Kossan fell 22 sen to RM5.88.

Meanwhile, MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Bhd said Malaysia was not the only country affected as rating downgrades were also done to countries with stronger credit such as the United Kingdom and Hong Kong.

The investment bank observed that rating action does not affect the trajectory of financial markets in the long term.

The overall market breadth on Bursa was positive with gainers outpacing losers 697 to 663, while 407 counters were unchanged, 366 untraded and 31 others suspended.

Volume climbed to 16.5 billion shares worth RM7.23 billion from 14.22 billion shares worth RM6.75 billion last Friday.

Among the heavyweights, Tenaga trimmed four sen to RM10.90, IHH Healthcare added five sen to RM5.50 while Public Bank was flat at RM18.60.

As for actives, Yong Tai gained two sen to 38.5 sen, Top Builders added 2.5 sen to 13.5 sen, P.A Resources bagged 3.5 sen to 18 sen while Inix, which recently ventured into the rubber glove industry after acquiring a 51 per cent stake in L&S Gloves Sdn Bhd, earned 17 sen to 50 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 21.61 points higher at 11,762.33, the FBMT 100 Index increased 21.05 points to 11,515.01, the FBM 70 climbed 81.40 points to 15,330.95 and the FBM ACE advanced 22.19 points to 10,647.16.

However, the FBM Emas Shariah Index dwindled 11.59 points to 13,495.58.

Meanwhile, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 1.73 points to 175.52, the Plantation Index bagged 7.32 points to 7,356.72, while the Financial Services Index soared 110.93 points to 14,628.39.

The Main Market volume increased to 10.94 billion shares worth RM5.83 billion from 9.79 billion shares worth RM5.57 billion on Friday.

Warrants turnover expanded to 1.05 billion units worth RM175.02 million from 865.14 million units worth RM154 million.

Volume on the ACE Market improved to 4.49 billion shares worth RM1.22 billion from 3.56 billion shares worth RM1.03 billion previously.

Consumer products and services accounted for 1.14 billion shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (3.82 billion), construction (1.20 billion), technology (582.09 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (81.53 million), property (1.80 billion), plantations (355.28 million), REITs (16.47 million), closed/fund (18,800), energy (1.40 billion), healthcare (80.53 million), telecommunications and media (71.57 million), transportation and logistics (307.40 million), and utilities (77.79 million). — Bernama