Bursa Malaysia ends marginally higher

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended marginally higher yesterday with the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rising by 0.09 per cent as investors continued to bargain-hunt stocks particularly plantation and banking heavyweights, a dealer said.

At 5pm, the barometer index rose 1.35 points to 1,555.93 from yesterday’s close of 1,554.58.

The benchmark index, which opened 0.9 of-a-point higher at 1,555.48, moved between 1,552.94 and 1,559.46 throughout the day.

On the broader market, gainers surpassed losers 443 to 440, while 429 counters were unchanged, 931 untraded and 14 others suspended.

Total turnover declined to 2.40 billion units worth RM1.91 billion from 2.75 billion units worth RM2.25 billion on Tuesday.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vicepresident of equity research Thong Pak Leng foresees the performance of FBM KLCI to remain steady, supported by improving fundamentals of the local economy.

“Nevertheless, market sentiments are still in cautious mode given the increasing market volatility both local and regionally. Hence, we expect the FBM KLCI to stay in consolidation mode and hover within 1,545-1,565 for the remainder of the week, with immediate support at 1,545 followed by 1,530 while resistance will be at 1,580,” Thong said.

Meanwhile, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) today announced that the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) will be increased by 25 basis points to 2.00 per cent after its third Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting this year.

The central bank said the sustained reopening of the global economy and the improvement in labour market conditions have continued to support the recovery of economic activity.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank improved 10 sen to RM9.10, Public Bank rose one sen to RM4.65, CIMB inched up two sen to RM5.10, Petronas Chemicals stayed flat at RM9.89, while IHH Healthcare slipped one sen to RM6.42.