Gains in index-linked counters lift Bursa Malaysia higher

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended higher yesterday on persistent buying in indexlinked counters due to bargainhunting, as market sentiment was lifted by strong overnight gains on Wall Street.

At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI ( FBM KLCI) rose 8.68 points to 1,551.48 from Monday’s close of 1,542.80.

After opening 2.09 points firmer at 1,544.89 this morning, the local index moved between 1,543.23 and 1,554.67 throughout the day.

On the broader market, gainers led losers 462 to 372, with 367 counters unchanged, 782 untraded and 36 others suspended.

Turnover increased to 2.76 billion shares worth RM2.25 billion from 2.41 billion shares worth RM1.91 billion previously.

A dealer said the FBM KLCI performed better yesterday after both the Nasdaq Composite Index and S&P 500 closed at record highs on Monday.

“The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 174.31 points to end at 29,276.82, a gain of 0.6 per cent.

The S&P 500 index advanced 24.38 points, or 0.7 per cent, ending at 3,352.09 while the Nasdaq Composite added 107.88 points, or 1.1 per cent, to finish at 9,628.39.

Some traders on the local market also decided to take advantage of the current low prices to accumulate quality stocks, following yesterday’s losses,” he added.

On the regional front, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.26 per cent to 27,583.88, Singapore’s Straits Times Index was 0.43 per cent higher at 3,176.82 and the Jakarta Composite Index ticked up 0.04 per cent to 5,954.40.

Among heavyweights on Bursa Malaysia, Maybank added six sen to RM8.54, Tenaga rose 14 sen to RM12.64, Public Bank gained two sen to RM18.30 and Petronas Chemicals surged 27 sen to RM6.66. Of the actives, MYEG soared 17 sen to RM1.33, Securemetric eased two sen to 18.5 sen and DGB Asia was half-asen lower at eight sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index perked up 13.77 points to 11,038.29, the FBMT 100 Index rose 55.89 points to 10,838.34 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 70.10 points to 11,752.94.

The FBM 70 gained 51.50 points to 13,790.43 and the FBM Ace climbed 26.02 points to 5,544.91.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 2.41 points to 146.71, the Plantation Index was up 25.78 points to 7,321.41 and the Financial Services Index was 41.19 points higher at 14,913.03 Main Market volume expanded to 1.70 billion shares valued at RM1.97 billion from 1.40 billion shares valued at RM1.63 billion on Monday.

Warrants turnover increased to 385.75 million units worth RM55.03 million from 357.31 million units worth RM55.34 million.