Bursa Malaysia ends higher, buoyed by positive sentiment across regional peers

BURSA Malaysia continued its upward trajectory to close higher yesterday buoyed by positive sentiment across its regional peers, said an analyst.

At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 5.91 points to 1,575.16 from Thursday’s close of 1,569.25.

The benchmark index opened 1.58 points easier at 1,567.67, moved between 1,566.34 and 1,575.57 throughout the trading session. On the broader market, gainers beat decliners 621 to 466 while 470 counters were unchanged, 816 untraded and 52 others suspended.

Turnover improved to 4.11 billion units worth RM3.25 billion from 3.96 billion units worth RM2.83 billion on Thursday.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said major regional indices (Nikkei, Hang Seng Index and Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index) finished higher despite the poor overnight showing on Wall Street. He said global funds have begun to reconsider the Asia Pacific region due to its relatively cheap valuations compared to other regions in the world.

“Meantime, investors were eagerly anticipating the release later in the day of the US Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of inflation, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, hoping to gain insight into the Fed’s plans for interest rates ahead of next week’s policy meeting,” he told Bernama.