KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 19 — The Kuala Lumpur stock market ended on a positive note today, propelled by buys in telecommunication (telco), technology and ACE Market counters, dealers said.
At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) bucked the downtrend in regional markets, closing 9.09 points higher at 1,584.93, compared to 1,575.84 at yesterday’s close.
The index opened 4.34 points higher at 1,580.18 and moved between 1,573.84 and 1,584.93 throughout the day.
On the broader market, however, losers edged past gainers 653 to 581, while 411 counters were unchanged, 531 untraded and 10 others suspended.
Total volume was easier at 14.36 billion units worth RM6.36 billion, compared with 14.49 billion units worth RM6.73 billion yesterday.
Regionally, Japan’s Nikkei trimmed 1.24 per cent to 29,860.79, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng decreased 0.85 per cent to 30,335.51 and Singapore’s STI was down 0.94 per cent to 2,881.51.
On the domestic front, Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim said telecommunication stocks (telco) were the investors’ favourite today, with major telco players such as Maxis, Axiata and Digi recording gains following the government’s unveiling of MyDIGITAL and the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint.
Maxis and Axiata gained eight sen each to RM4.75 and RM3.37, respectively, Digi improved three sen to RM3.74 and Telekom Malaysia added four sen to RM6.48.
“Telekom Malaysia also rose higher on Friday following its appointment as the only home-based cloud service provider — alongside Microsoft, Google and Amazon — for the MyDIGITAL initiative.
“As such, it was no surprise that the Bursa Malaysia Telecommunications and Media Index was the biggest gainer, settling nearly 4.0 per cent higher for the day,” he noted, adding that the Bursa Malaysia Technology Index also followed suit, rising by 1.3 per cent.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank rose 10 sen to RM8.03, Tenaga improved three sen to RM9.88, while Public Bank and PChem gained two sen each to RM4.13 and RM7.49, respectively.
Meanwhile, Top Glove eased two sen to RM6.05.
Of the actives, Dagang Nexchange trimmed eight sen to 69 sen, Key Asic improved 3.5 sen to 14.5 sen and Managepay added three sen to 24 sen, while EA Holdings and Iris Corporation were both half-a-sen higher at 4.5 sen and 38.5 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 71.65 points to 11,641.61, the FBMT 100 Index increased 72.63 points to 11,320.34, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 62.77 points higher at 13,119.09.
The FBM 70 added 128.33 points to 15,359.35, and the FBM ACE surged 160.67 points to 11,248.62.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index gained 69.66 points to 14,872.78, the Industrial Products and Services Index increased 1.22 points to 182.27, and the Plantation Index improved 13.17 points to 7,189.05.
The Main Market volume eased to 9.1 billion shares worth RM5.13 billion from 10.59 billion shares worth RM5.73 billion recorded at yesterday’s close.
Warrants turnover was lower at 364.08 million units valued at RM57.6 million from 373.73 million units valued at RM57.8 million.
Volume on the ACE Market widened to 4.89 billion shares worth RM1.16 billion from 3.52 billion shares worth RM949.71 million previously.
Consumer products and services accounted for 793.03 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (2.41 billion), construction (228.71 million), technology (3.54 billion), SPAC (nil), financial services (75.06 million), property (281.29 million), plantations (46.86 million), REITs (12.56 million), closed/fund (50,000), energy (1.16 billion), healthcare (79.84 million), telecommunications and media (207.22 million), transportation and logistics (179.5 million), and utilities (83.77 million). — Bernama
