Bursa Malaysia ends slightly higher

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia closed slightly higher for the fourth consecutive day this week in range-bound trading, with the barometer index lifted by follow-through buying interest in heavyweight stocks, said a dealer.

At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI ( FBM KLCI) finished 2.45 points better at 1,766.23 from Wednesday’s close of 1,763.78.

The index moved between 1,762.15 and 1,769.22 during the day after opening 4.54 points higher at 1,760.95.

However, the broader market was negative with decliners outpacing gainers 618 to 335, while 389 counters were unchanged, 587 were untraded and 31 others were suspended.

Volume decreased to 3.03 billion units, valued at RM2.73 billion, from Wednesday’s 3.75 billion units worth RM2.70 billion.

A dealer said profit taking was seen particularly in small and medium-size capitalised stocks which had capped the market advance.

Follow- through buying interest in index- linked stocks, however, helped support the barometer index, led by Tenaga, he said.

On the broader Asian market, the bourses were subdued despite a strong performance on Wall Street overnight, as investors digested the developments in the trade talks between the presidents of the United States and the European Commission.

The US and the European Union agreed to work together to lower trade barriers, defusing a potential trade war between the two blocs, but receding trade war fears had yet to impact the region, he added.

Regionally, Japan’s Nikkei slipped 0.12 per cent to 22,586.87, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.68 per cent to 28,725.36, the Singapore Straits Times Index increased 0.25 per cent to 3,335.11, and South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.71 per cent to 2,289.06.

Of heavyweights, Maybank added nine sen to RM9.90, Public Bank improved two sen to RM24.02, Tenaga rose 22 sen to RM15.10, Petronas Chemicals gained one sen to RM8.82 while CIMB shed one sen to RM5.88.

Among actives, Sapura Energy slid one sen to 61 sen, Lay Hong added 3.5 sen to 76.5 sen, Nexgram eased half-a-sen to three sen, Cuscapi shed 2.5 sen to 30 sen while Vizione was flat at 14.5 sen.

For top gainers, Panasonic Manufacturing gained 42 sen to RM38.0 while Ajinomoto, Riverview Rubber Estates and Westport added 20 sen each at RM21.82, RM3.90 and RM3.60, respectively.

The FBM Emas Index was 2.01 points better at 12,546.28, the FBMT 100 Index added 7.32 points to 12,323.94 while the FBM Ace Index fell 70.79 points to 5,451.56.

The FBM 70 reduced 27.29 points to 15,505.05 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 3.77 points lower at 12,676.25.

Sector-wise, the Finance Index climbed 44.08 points to 17,442.57, the Plantation Index gained 7.87 points to 7,549.83 and the Industrial Index increased 12.83 points to 3,251.06.

Main Market volume decreased to 1.98 billion shares, valued at RM2.46 billion, from 2.57 billion shares worth RM2.37 billion recorded on Wednesday.

Warrants’ turnover was lower at 643.43 million units, valued at RM191.18 million, versus Wednesday’s 701.50 million units worth RM207.65 million.

Volume on the ACE Market fell to 407.25 million shares, worth RM81.77 million, from 482.72 million shares valued at RM122.96 million transacted previously.

Consumer products accounted for 229.83 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products (343.20 million), construction (343.98 million), trade and services ( 638.45 million), technology ( 168.77 million), infrastructure (16.31 million), SPAC (158,600), finance (58.90 million), hotels (815,400), properties (146.24 million), plantations (25.91 million), mining (23,500), REITs (6.71 million), and closed/fund (100,500).

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