KUALA LUMPUR, July 31 — Bursa Malaysia recouped last week’s losses to close in the positive territory in line with the strong performance of regional peers amidst improved regional market sentiment, an analyst said.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI improved by 9.08 points or 0.63 per cent to 1,459.43 from 1,450.35 at Friday’s close.
The market bellwether opened 0.72 of a point higher at 1,451.07 and hit its intraday high at 1,464.70.
The broader market was also positive with gainers beating losers 545 to 405, while 452 counters were unchanged, 902 untraded and 53 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 3.29 billion units worth RM2.49 billion.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI delivered an impressive performance, thanks to the strong backing of local institutions and continuous buying from foreign funds.
He said the strong showing is in tandem with the splendid performance across the region.
In China, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) increased to 49.3 in July, improving from 49.0 in June and the market’s estimate of 49.2.
While in Japan, investors still assess the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) monetary policy decision to lift the cap on bond yields and the possible adjustment to its ultra-easy monetary policies.
On the domestic front, he is optimistic about the mid-term outlook of the market given the improvement in the local market sentiment and foreign support but investors may stay alert on the increasing market volatility and external uncertainties.
“Based on the current analysis, it is expected that the FBM KLCI will hover slightly higher, oscillating between 1,460 and 1,475 for the entire week.
“Having broken the 1,460 resistance, we shall see the next resistance level at 1,490, with support at 1,440,” he told Bernama.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank, Public Bank and Tenaga Nasional increased 3.0 sen each to RM9.02, RM4.17 and RM9.60, CIMB added 5.0 sen to RM5.55 and Petronas Chemicals went up 10 sen to 6.95.
Of the actives, Top Glove gained 2.5 sen to 92 sen, KNM was half-a-sen firmer at 9.5 sen while Sarawak Consolidated was flat at 43.5 sen.
Both Hong Seng and UEM Sunrise fell 1.0 sen to 6.5 sen and 48 sen.
On the index board, the FBM 70 Index increased 14.27 points to 13,949.59, the FBM Emas Index bagged 50.35 points to 10,703.28, the FBMT 100 Index was 51.70 points higher at 10,392.88, the FBM Emas Shariah Index went up 47.52 points to 10,952.72 and the FBM ACE Index advanced 8.80 points to 5,330.13.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index jumped 94.24 points to 16,274.05 and the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 1.20 points to 168.71, the Plantation Index grew 30.32 points to 7,180.43, while the Energy Index shed 2.55 points to 830.15.
The Main Market volume widened to 2.32 billion units valued at RM2.24 billion from 2.07 billion units valued at RM1.69 billion last week.
Warrant turnover decreased to 363.95 million units worth RM58.30 million versus 373.88 million units worth RM60.81 million previously.
The ACE Market volume strengthened to 607.69 million shares valued at RM195.49 million compared to 579.16 million shares valued at RM166.44 million on Friday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 459.82 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (404.77 million); construction (207.28 million); technology (388.38 million); SPAC (nil); financial services (92.47 million); property (290.91 million); plantation (38.32 million); REITs (12.39 million), closed/fund (57,700); energy (193.0 million); healthcare (105.64 million); telecommunications and media (39.66 million); transportation and logistics (33.33 million); and utilities (53.15 million). — Bernama
