Bursa Malaysia ends marginally higher on late buying

BURSA Malaysia closed higher yesterday, buoyed by late buying in blue-chip stocks led by Maybank, MISC, and Petronas Chemicals, amid the mostly weaker performance in regional peers.

At 5pm, the FBM KLCI inched up by 0.88 of-a-point to 1,538.42 from Monday’s close of 1,537.54.

The benchmark index opened 1.48 points lower at 1,536.06 and moved in a tight range between 1,532.07 and 1,540.51 throughout the day.

Gainers beat losers 570 to 472, while 491 counters were unchanged, 807 untraded, and 47 others suspended.

Turnover increased to 3.83 billion units worth RM3.04 billion from 3.59 billion units worth RM2.49 billion on Monday.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said that the prevailing general sentiment in the stock market is still cautious.

“Investors are awaiting key statistical updates in the US, particularly the Personal Consumption Expenditures inflation data which is projected to hold steady at 2.4% for February.

“Essentially, this inflation figure will influence the US Federal Reserve’s decision on the timing of any potential interest rate adjustments, which has been a significant factor driving positive investor sentiment,” he told Bernama.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank added 7 sen to RM9.69, Petronas Chemicals improved by 5 sen to RM6.83, Public Bank advanced 1 sen RM4.25, while CIMB Group was flat at RM6.50.

As for the actives, Sapura Energy added 1 sen to 5 sen, TCS Group added 6.5 sen to 19.5 sen, while TWL Holdings, Fitters Diversified and Lambo Group were flat all at 3 sen, 5.5 sen and 3 sen respectively, and Wentel slipped 2 sen to 33 sen.