KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 — Bursa Malaysia breached the resistance at the 1,590 level to close at its intra-day high, as buying support in selected index-linked counters escalated at the eleventh hour.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior analyst Kenneth Leong said the buying interest was propelled by the strong corporate earnings for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, released today.
At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 16.08 points, or 1.02 per cent, higher at 1,593.90 compared with 1,577.82 at Tuesday’s close.
The index opened 1.54 points firmer at 1,579.36 and moved between 1,576.77 and 1,593.90 throughout the day.
Market breadth was positive with gainers outnumbering losers 555 to 491, while 464 counters were unchanged, 681 untraded and 39 others suspended.
On the broader market, buying momentum was strong with total volume swelling to 8.61 billion units worth RM7.33 billion from 6.33 billion units worth RM3.84 billion yesterday.
According to Leong, a slew of financial results released today had increased risk appetite among investors.
“We have seen companies such as Petronas Chemicals (PChem), Hong Leong Financial Group (HLFG), Maybank, Telekom and RHB report stronger quarterly results compared to the same period last year,” he told Bernama.
Among the 30 FBM KLCI counters, Public Bank gained 10 sen to RM4.27, Axiata accumulated 18 sen to RM3.68, Maxis increased 21 sen to RM4.83, HLFG surged RM1.24 to RM18.24 and PChem jumped 17 sen to RM8.17.
PChem released its financial results today, which showed a jump in net profit to RM1.46 billion in the first quarter ended March 31, 2021, from RM506.0 million a year earlier. This was largely due to improvements in both crude oil and petrochemicals prices, boosted by global demand recovery.
Meanwhile, HLFG, which is also the top gainer across the board, saw its net profit surge to RM577.27 million in the third quarter ended March 31, 2021, from RM339.20 million in the previous year’s corresponding period owing to higher contributions from all divisions.
Of the actives, Privasia added 4.5 sen to 30.5 sen, Dagang Nexchange perked 6.5 sen to 80 sen and its warrants advanced five sen to 29 sen, Progressive Impact was 2.5 sen firmer at 21.5 sen, and Kejuruteraan Asastera warrants were 4.5 sen higher at 11 sen.
Top advancers included Nestle which soared RM1.20 to RM136.50 and Carlsberg which grew 98 sen to RM22.58. Petronas Dagangan was 66 sen firmer at RM19.48, Mega First strengthened 64 sen to RM7.60 and Hong Leong Bank garnered 62 sen to RM18.26.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index jumped 106.23 points to 11,598.53 and the FBMT 100 Index strengthened 107.80 points to 11,289.74.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 104.57 points to 12,891.83, the FBM 70 gained 118.87 points to 14,952.90 and the FBM ACE was 87.74 points firmer at 7,937.47.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index leapt 238.51 points to 15,132.50, the Plantation Index rose 24.41 points to 6,964.63, and the Industrial Products and Services Index ticked up 2.33 points to 194.39.
Main Market volume widened to 5.23 million shares worth RM6.37 billion from 3.89 billion shares worth RM3.0 billion on Tuesday.
Warrants turnover was lower at 260.49 million units valued at RM29.71 million versus 285.18 million units valued at RM32.20 million previously.
Volume on the ACE Market was higher at 3.11 billion shares worth RM930.06 million compared with 2.15 billion shares worth RM802.42 million previously.
Consumer products and services accounted for 639.45 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (1.64 billion), construction (270.55 million), technology (1.41 billion), SPAC (nil), financial services (205.35 million), property (208.76 million), plantation (81.31 million), REITs (10.49 million), closed/fund (3,700), energy (279.85 million), healthcare (181.98 million), telecommunications and media (144.10 million), transportation and logistics (99.88 million), and utilities (62.69 million).
The market was closed yesterday in conjunction with the Wesak Day celebration. — Bernama
