Bursa Malaysia ends at intra day high on institutional support

Bursa Malaysia ended at an intra-day high backed by institutional support in selected heavyweights, especially government-linked counters at the eleventh hour.

The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia (FBM KLCI) ended 0.42 per cent or 6.86 points higher at 1,609.33, a er trading between it and the lowest point of 1,594.59.

The market barometer opened 6.70 points lower at 1,595.77.

The index leapt from 1,603.62 at 4.50pm to 1,609.33, leading it to close at its highest yesterday.

Market breadth, however, was on a negative note as losers slightly outpaced gainers by 400 to 381, with 397 counters unchanged, 780 untraded and 13 others suspended.

Turnover was slightly lower at 2.01 billion units worth RM1.74 billion compared with 2.04 billion units worth RM1.75 billion yesterday.

Bank Islam chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said that the local bourse ended in range-bound trading as the market was less enthusiastic pending further market direction.

“It seems that 1600 points remains as the psychological level, and it remained steady as it was supported by local institutional funds.

“At the moment, investors especially retail are very cautious about the external environment as there have been clear signs of a global economic slowdown,” he told Bernama.

He added that the government is now conducting demand management to help the economy to grow.

“While the intervention is welcome, the markets are very cautious especially areas relating to the trade war which is very edgy. At this juncture, a second rate cut by the central bank is quite possible,” he said.

On the local bourse, Tenaga Nasional rose 10 sen to RM13.76, IHH and CIMB Group gained one sen to RM5.68 and RM5.07 respectively, Maybank added eight sen to RM8.64 and Petronas Chemicals added two sen to RM7.22.

As for actives, Ekovest expanded four sen to 84.5 sen, Iskandar Waterfront leaped eight sen to 95 sen, AirAsiaX slid one sen to 18.5 sen and Dayang Enterprise lost three sen to RM1.49.

The FBM Ace declined 94.01 points to 4,553.63, the FBM 70 advanced 44.50 points to 14,180.45, the FBM Emas Index recovered 47.36 points to 11,386.15, the FBM Emas Shariah Index appreciated 54.24 points to 11,924.19 and the FBMT 100 Index was 44.84 points higher at 11,219.33.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index strengthened 67.22 points to 15,655.33, the Plantation Index rose 69.04 points to 6,841.69, and the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.18 point higher at 150.57.

Main Market volume increased slightly to 1.38 billion units worth RM1.60 billion from 1.31 billion units worth RM1.60 billion, compared with yesterday’s 1.27 billion units worth RM1.47 billion.