KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 28 --Bursa Malaysia ended the week broadly higher due to bargain-hunting in the lower liners and technology stocks, an analyst said.
At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) advanced 0.26 per cent or 4.03 points to 1,520.02 from 1,515.99 at Thursday’s close.
The key index which opened 2.26 points higher at 1,518.25, moved between 1,517.96 and 1,522.95 during the trading session.
The overall market breadth was positive with gainers outpacing losers 494 to 361, while 441 counters were unchanged, 972 untraded, and 79 others suspended.
Total turnover declined to 2.00 billion units valued at RM1.54 billion versus Thursday’s 2.22 billion units worth RM1.77 billion.
According to the analyst, the higher earnings in Apple Inc has somewhat lifted interest in the technology sector, as well as the Technology index.
Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the bargain-hunting also emerged for the banking stocks.
“Besides, the uptrend in crude palm oil and Brent crude, which stayed above RM5,600 per tonne and close to US$90 per barrel, respectively, has also attracted some buying interest on plantation and oil and gas stocks,” he told Bernama.
Regionally, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 2.09 per cent despite the negative cues overnight from Wall Street as investors picked up stocks at bargain prices following the recent sell-offs.
Among other heavyweights, Maybank and Public Bank added one sen at RM8.31 and RM4.22 respectively, Petronas Chemicals was flat at RM8.90, IHH rose two sen to RM6.40, and CIMB increased three sen to RM5.28.
As for the most actives, SMTrack lost half-a-sen to 16 sen, AHB Holdings added 2.5 sen to 13 sen, DNeX was 1.5 sen higher to 93.5 sen, while Opcom rose 5.0 sen to RM1.05.
On the index board, the FBM ACE gained 60.66 points to 6,059.03, FBM 70 increased 12.97 points to 13,361.21, FBM Emas Index went up 28.93 points to 10,901.04, FBMT 100 Index ticked up 24.16 points to 10,607.16, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 33.93 points to 11,580.59.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index perked up 15.52 points to 15,779.64, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.86 of-a-point firmer at 200.41, while the Plantation Index climbed 17.93 points to 6,650.11.
The Main Market volume increased 1.21 billion shares to worth RM1.30 billion versus Thursday’s 1.44 billion shares valued at RM1.54 billion.
Warrants turnover narrowed to 259.79 million units valued at RM31.15 million from 277.33 million units worth RM35.12 million yesterday.
The ACE Market volume expanded to 524.78 million shares worth RM202.22 million against 499.54 million shares valued at RM202.41 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 273.65 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (236.60 million), construction (97.39 million), technology (214.52 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (54.42 million), property (113.31 million), plantation (29.13 million), REITs (4.14 million), closed/fund (90,000), energy (93.01 million), healthcare (47.26 million), telecommunications and media (13.94 million), transportation and logistics (31.03 million), and utilities (7.86 million). — Bernama
