Bursa snaps losing streak as bargain hunting emerges

BURSA Malaysia snapped four consecutive days of losses to end higher yesterday as bargain hunting emerged following the recent sell-off, said an analyst.

At 5pm, the FBM KLCI rose 5.42 points, or 0.35%, to 1,540.42 from Tuesday’s close of 1,535.

The benchmark index, which opened 0.05 of-a-point firmer at 1,535.05, moved between 1,532.95 and 1,541.88 throughout the trading session.

On the broader market, gainers trounced decliners 717 to 318, while 469 counters were unchanged, 848 untraded, and 11 others suspended.

Turnover slipped to 3.45 billion units worth RM2.67 billion from 4.93 billion units worth RM3.72 billion on Tuesday.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said most key regional indices also rebounded following the recent sell-off, which saw Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index inch up 0.02% to 16,251.84, China’s SSE Composite Index improved 2.14% to 3,071.38, and Singapore’s Straits Times Index rose 0.63% to 3,164.42.

Nonetheless, gains are capped in certain markets on expectations the United States’ interest rates will stay high, he told Bernama.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank added two sen to RM9.60, Public Bank and CIMB gained five sen to RM4.15 and RM6.53, respectively, Tenaga Nasional put on four sen to RM11.52, and Petronas Chemicals increased three sen to RM6.83.

As for the actives, Bina Puri Holdings and MY E.G. Services edged up half-a-sen to 8.5 sen and 77.5 sen, respectively, while Alpha IVF eased half-a-sen to 33 sen, Avillion shed 1.5 sen to 4.5 sen, and Ingenieur Gudang was flat at 14.5 sen.