Bursa Malaysia ends higher on oversold position

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended the day higher yesterday, which was not a surprise as it was from an oversold position, said an analyst.

At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was marginally higher at 1,685.94, up 2.21 points, from Monday’s close of 1,683.73.

The index opened 4.45 points stronger at 1,688.18 and moved between 1,680.97 and 1,696.99 throughout the day.

Market breadth was positive, with gainers outpacing losers 420 to 358, while 391 were unchanged, 731 untraded and 91 others suspended.

Volume rose to 1.95 billion units worth RM1.59 billion from 1.84 billion units worth RM1.42 billion on Monday.

Bank Islam chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the index rebounded yesterday along with the regional markets.

“This happened despite weak performance in the US market on Sunday night. Perhaps the recent comments from the US President Donald Trump with regards to the trade deal with China may have supported the markets,” said Mohd Afzanizam.

“But such an argument may not hold water as there is no clear progress on this front. What is certain, the Federal Reserve was going to raise the interest rates and business sentiment will be affected by the trade friction,” he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, from a technical stand-point, Mohd Afzanizam said the bourse was in oversold territory.

“Therefore, the rebound is perhaps not really a surprise. The question is how sustainable is the rebound in the face of market uncertainty. That thought will continue to dominate market sentiment in the immediate term,” said Mohd Afzanizam.

Of the heavyweights, Maybank improved seven sen to RM9.34, Tenaga added 20 sen to RM14.30, Petronas Chemicals inched up four sen to RM9.35, while Public Bank declined four sen to RM24.54 and CIMB eased two sen to RM5.58.

Among actives, Seacera and Hubline rose half-a-sen each to 21 sen and five sen, respectively.

Datasonic improved 4.5 sen to 35 sen, while Sapura Energy lost half-a-sen to 32 sen and Velesto Energy erased half-a-sen to 25.5 sen.

The FBM Emas Index gained 19.57 points to 11,574.63, the FBM Emas Shariah Index improved 27.08 points to 11,552.73 while the FBM Ace Index was 0.01 point weaker at 4,712.33.

The FBMT 100 Index advanced 17.85 points to 11,437.07 and the FBM 70 surged 31.64 points to 12,399.8.

Sector-wise, the Plantation Index went up 9.58 points to 7,291.8, the Financial Services expanded 8.76 points to 17,041.09 and the Industrial Product and Services Index was 0.45 point better at 168.42.

Main Market volume rose to 1.33 billion shares worth RM1.44 billion from 1.23 billion shares worth RM1.29 billion recorded on Monday.

Warrants turnover climbed to 387.13 million units valued at RM103.1 million from 348.7 million units valued at RM85.66 million transacted previously.

Volume on the ACE Market decreased to 240.34 million shares worth RM38.91 million from 259.33 million shares worth RM43.19 million registered on Monday.

Consumer products and services accounted for 106.55 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (284.79 million), construction (62.52 million), technology (322.37 million), SPAC (395,000), financial services (28.41 million), property (64.77 million), plantations (14.08 million), REITs (8.6 million), closed/fund (39,000), energy (283.88 million), healthcare (21.47 million), telecommunication and media (34.88 million), transportation and logistics (61.85 million) and utilities (35.73 million).

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