Bursa Malaysia recovers to end higher
KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia pared yesterday's losses to close higher today, thanks to the rebound in the global oil prices and stronger ringgit, a dealer said.
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 13.86 points to 1,667.57 against Monday's close of 1,653.71.
The index opened 1,655.56 in the morning and moved between 1,652.63 and 1,667.57 throughout the day.
There were 467 gainers and 319 losers, while 391 counters were unchanged, 481 untraded and 20 others suspended.
Volume rose 1.57 billion units worth RM1.88 billion from 1.26 billion units worth RM1.52 billion on Monday.
A dealer said sustained buying interest was seen on the local bourse as the key index managed to claw back higher to perform better than its regional peers.
"However, the underlying market sentiment remained cautious due to uncertainty over when the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates and volatility in crude oil prices," he said.
US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was US$0.40 higher at US$50.34 (RM211) per barrel and Brent crude oil went up US$0.39 to US$51.91 per barrel.
Among regional bourses, Singapore's Straits Times added 0.41% to 2,828.59 and Japan's Nikkei 225 perked 0.38% to 16,963.61.
Among heavyweights, Public Bank increased by six sen to RM19.76, Maybank edged up 11 sen to RM7.71, Petronas Chemicals perked one sen to RM6.81 and IHH Healthcare added three sen to RM6.43.
TNB was flat at RM14.40.
Of the gainers, KESM Industries added 42 sen to RM9.22, Panasonic Manufacturing rose 32 sen to RM36.90, AEON Credit Service went up 28 sen to RM14.62, UMW, Genting and Alliance Financial each increased by 17 sen each to RM5.95, RM7.99 and RM3.98, respectively.
On the scoreboard, the FBM Emas Index rose 94.64 points to 11,804.24, FBM Emas Syariah Index leaped 85.05 points to 12,454.06, FBMT100 Index jumped 96.54 points to 11,503.03 and the FBM Ace perked 16.75 points to 5,155.92.
The FBM 70 surged 119.97 points to 13,906.80.
On a sectoral basis, the Plantation Index improved 37.67 points to 7,940.86, Industrial Index added 30 points to 3,129.54 and the Finance Index soared 144.30 points to 14,355.76.
The Main Market turnover rose to 936.78 million units worth RM1.79 billion from 756.36 million units worth RM1.44 billion on Monday.
The ACE Market volume improved to 386.37 million shares valued at RM38.26 million from 254.32 million shares valued at RM28.63 million previously.
Warrants, however, decreased 242.77 million units worth RM49.02 million from 249.54 million units worth RM44.53 million on Monday.
Consumer products accounted for 42.27 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products (226.10 million), construction (53.81 million), trade and services (363.16 million), technology (24.88 million), infrastructure (15.42 million), SPAC (41.10 million), finance (54.50 million), hotels (74,800), properties (60.80 million), plantations (27.05 million), mining (24,500), REITs (27.53 million) and closed/fund (65,800).
The physical price of gold as at 5.00pm stood at RM164.68 per gramme, up 45 sen from RM164.23 at 5pm yesterday. — Bernama