KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 8 — Bursa Malaysia reversed losses in the morning to close higher, with the key index regaining its momentum to stay above the 1,600-point level on the back of strong gains in rubber glove counters and bargain hunting in selected heavyweights.
The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 30.24 points today to end the first week of 2021 at the day’s high of 1,633.19 after sliding to a low of 1,595.12 at one point.
On the broader market, losers trounced gainers 1,039 to 353, while 284 counters were unchanged, 408 untraded and 13 others suspended.
Total volume decreased to 10.03 billion units worth RM7.16 billion from 6.54 billion units worth RM5.03 billion yesterday.
Supermax surged RM1.25 or 20.66 per cent to RM7.30, Hartalega jumped RM1.60 (14.68 per cent) to RM212.50, while Top Glove soared 70 sen (12.07 per cent) to RM6.50.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim said these stocks were the biggest gainers among the 30 FBM KLCI constituents, lifting the composite index by a combined 27.95 points.
“The surge in Covid-19 infections worldwide gives a good prospect for rubber glove demand,” he told Bernama.
On the other hand, Adam said the public was concerned of another possible round of movement control order (MCO) which might dampen economic growth.
Moreover, in other countries such as Japan, a state of emergency has been announced amid the surge in cases, he said.
Back home, he said political uncertainty transpired throughout the week too, as Umno had decided to not contest with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia in the next general election.
“All of these negative vibes were somewhat offset by the positivity sparked after the United States President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party won control of the Senate, clearing the path for his government to use big fiscal spending to stimulate the pandemic-ravaged economy,” Adam said.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank rose 12 sen to RM8.40, Petronas Chemicals gained 51 sen to RM7.56 following Saudi Arabia’s surprise cut on supply, and Tenaga was flat at RM10.52.
However, Public Bank trimmed six sen to RM20.34 and IHH Healthcare erased nine sen to RM5.61.
Of the actives, AT Systematization added one sen to 19 sen, Key Alliance was flat at five sen, HLT bagged 30 sen to RM1.48, and Vortex slipped one sen to five sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 125.98 points to 11,637.45, the FBMT 100 Index advanced 146.56 points to 11,407.81, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 226.06 points to 13,153.94.
However, the FBM 70 declined 68.31 points to 14,488.11 and the FBM ACE fell 43.56 points to 10,497.41.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index rebounded 40.12 points to 15,008.11 and the Industrial Products and Services Index added 2.77 points to 174.58, while the Plantation Index eased 1.75 points to 7,418.29.
The Main Market volume increased to 5.61 billion shares worth RM5.56 billion from 4.04 billion shares worth RM4.26 billion yesterday.
Warrants turnover improved to 703.01 million units valued at RM100.81 million from yesterday’s 500.05 million units valued at RM68.73 million.
Volume on the ACE Market widened to 3.72 billion shares worth RM1.2 billion from 2.0 billion shares worth RM700.06 million previously.
Consumer products and services accounted for 936.32 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (2.03 billion), construction (364.15 million), technology (424.21 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (92.93 million), property (547.83 million), plantations (110.75 million), REITs (14.95 million), closed/fund (25,500), energy (504.94 million), healthcare (306.66 million), telecommunications and media (95.04 million), transportation and logistics (129.55 million), and utilities (44.03 million). — Bernama
