Bursa Malaysia closes mixed

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended mixed yesterday with the barometer index closing higher as consistent buying support from the consumer products and services as well as plantation counters halted the downtrend, dealers said.

At 5 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.68 points to 1,535.41 from Friday's close of 1,531.73.

Petronas Dagangan gained 88 sen to RM20.68 while Kuala Lumpur Kepong added 38 sen to RM21.08, li ing the key index by a combined 2.28 points.

The FBM KLCI opened 2.48 points higher at 1,534.21 and fluctuated between 1,531.42 and 1,534.21 throughout the trading session.

However, the broader market was negative as decliners outpaced gainers 571 to 415, while 427 counters were unchanged, 876 untraded and 27 others suspended.

Turnover slipped to 3.10 billion units valued at RM2.13 billion from Friday’s 3.15 billion units valued at RM2.32 billion.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vicepresident of equity research Thong Pak Leng told Bernama yesterday that the FBM KLCI closed higher due to bargainhunting activities and foreign buying.

“The benchmark index gained 0.24 per cent or 3.68 points to end at 1,535.41, li ed mainly by gaming, banking and oil and gas (O&G) counters. Key regional markets ended mixed on mixed sentiment.

“Investors continue to monitor the impact of inflation on both monetary policy and the pace of economic recovery while remain cautious ahead of the corporate earnings season,” he said.

Back home, he said, bargainhunting activities are expected to continue given the a ractive valuations on the local market compared to regional peers.

“We anticipate the index to trend within the 1,535-1,550 range for the week. Technically, immediate support is unchanged at 1,520 while resistance is at 1,565,” he added.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank and Petronas Chemicals were flat at RM8.01 and RM8.30, IHH Healthcare slipped 7.0 sen to RM6.51 while Public Bank added 1.0 sen to RM4.04 and TNB improved 6.0 sen to RM9.67.

Of the actives, Ecomate jumped 15.5 sen to 48.5 sen, NWP Holdings advanced 2.0 sen to 34 sen, KNM Group earned half-a-sen to 21.5 sen while Kanger International was flat at 3.5 sen.