KUALA LUMPUR, April 26 — Bursa Malaysia continued its upward trajectory to close higher today buoyed by positive sentiment across its regional peers, said an analyst.
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 5.91 points to 1,575.16 from yesterday’s close of 1,569.25.
The benchmark index opened 1.58 points easier at 1,567.67, moved between 1,566.34 and 1,575.57 throughout the trading session.
On the broader market, gainers beat decliners 621 to 466 while 470 counters were unchanged, 816 untraded and 52 others suspended.
Turnover improved to 4.11 billion units worth RM3.25 billion from 3.96 billion units worth RM2.83 billion yesterday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said major regional indices (Nikkei, Hang Seng Index and Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index) finished higher despite the poor overnight showing on Wall Street.
He said global funds have begun to reconsider the Asia Pacific region due to its relatively cheap valuations compared to other regions in the world.
“Meantime, investors were eagerly anticipating the release later in the day of the US Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of inflation, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, hoping to gain insight into the Fed’s plans for interest rates ahead of next week’s policy meeting,” he told Bernama.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank added 1.0 sen to RM9.79, Tenaga Nasional perked up by 6.0 sen to RM11.92, IHH Healthcare gained 2.0 sen to RM6.27, Public Bank eased 2.0 sen to RM4.21, CIMB slid 7.0 sen to RM6.61.
As for the actives, MY E.G. added 10.5 sen to 91.5 sen, Capital A gained 3.5 sen to 73.5 sen, YTL Corporation was up 26 sen to RM3.03, while BSL Corporation and Hong Seng Consolidated were flat at 3.0 sen and 1.0 sen respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 45.81 points to 11,826.79, the FBM 70 Index was 61.48 points firmer at 16,416.78, the FBMT 100 Index advanced 42.98 points to 11,461.45, the FBM Emas Shariah Index picked up 40.58 points to 11,991.95, and the FBM ACE Index jumped 47.0 points to 5,062.01.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.77 of-a-point to 187.33, the Energy Index edged up 6.02 points to 977.42, the Financial Services Index erased 60.14 points to 17,303.81 and the Plantation Index decreased 23.10 points to 7,402.95.
The Main Market volume increased to 2.59 billion units valued at RM2.92 billion versus 2.48 billion units valued at RM2.51 billion yesterday.
Warrants turnover surged to 1.06 billion units worth RM157.29 million against 977.13 million units worth RM141.19 million yesterday.
The ACE Market volume shrank to 452.36 million shares worth RM167.36 million from 501.52 million shares worth RM177.04 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 346.37 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (549.01 million), construction (202.36 million), technology (722.34 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (83.42 million), property (224.77 million), plantation (21.87 million), REITs (21.10 million), closed/fund (53,600), energy (135.93 million), healthcare (45.42 million), telecommunications and media (32.83 million), transportation and logistics (52.73 million), utilities (144.02 million), and business trusts (4.55 million). — Bernama
