Blue-chips-bargain hunting lifts FBM KLCI higher

“The upswing is starting as the market has fallen enough for them (foreign investors) to find value again, buying different stocks than what they had sold.

“Everything is about valuation,” he told Bernama, adding that the upswing would likely stay until next year.

The overall market breadth, however, was weaker with losers slightly outnumbered gainers 477 to 400, 383 counters were unchanged, 614 untraded and 75 others suspended.

Volume increased to 1.96 billion units worth RM2.79 billion from Tuesday’s 1.8 billion units valued at RM2.1 billion.

Regional markets were mixed with Japan’s Nikkei 225 rising 0.49 per cent to 22,597.2, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng erased 0.36 per cent to 29,574.82, and Singapore’s Straits Times gave up 0.12 per cent for 3,438.33.

Among heavyweights, Petronas Chemicals soared nine sen to RM7.74, CIMB added one sen to RM5.94, while Public Bank trimmed two sen to RM20.26.

Both Maybank and Sime Darby, however, were flat at RM9.20 and RM8.94, respectively.

Of the actives, UMW Oil & Gas gained one sen to 32.5 sen, Diversified Gateway inched up half-a-sen to 8.5 sen, while Trive Property shed half-a- sen to 5.5 sen.

Gas Malaysia, which earlier announced that the revision of the natural gas tariff for the non-power sector in Peninsular Malaysia will take effect from Jan 1 to June 30 next year, lost one sen to RM2.69.

On the scoreboard, the FBM Emas Index rose 35.6 points to 12,399.5, the FBMT 100 Index increased 33.9 points to 12,056.39, the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 67.99 points to 12,910.72, the FBM 70 Index gained 13.97 points to 15,310.11, and the FBM Ace soared 59.04 points to 6,393.37.

Sector-wise, the Finance Index improved 6.25 points to 15,904.89, the Plantation Index added 6.58 points to 7,875.46, while the Industrial Index shed 8.17 points to 3,093.18.

The Main Market volume increased to 1.38 billion units worth at RM2.7 billion from Tuesday’s 1.23 billion units valued at RM1.99 billion.

Volume on the ACE Market was slightly higher at 364.92 million shares worth RM69.59 million versus 3361.68 million shares valued at RM69.25 million previously.

Warrants volume widened to 207.03 million units worth RM26.66 million from 200.37 million units valued at RM25.09 million previously.

Consumer products accounted for 81.71 mi l l ion shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products ( 328.04 million), construction ( 71.03 million), trade and services ( 471.18 million), technology (186.32 million), infrastructure (12.71 million), SPAC (722,100), finance ( 51.47 million), hotels ( 471,500), properties ( 150.62 million), plantations ( 10.54 million), mining (23,100), REITs (15.55 million), and closed/fund (7,400).

For further information on stocks and prices, please visitwww. bursamalaysia. com.