Bursa Malaysia ends higher on last minute buying

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia closed higher today, lifted by last-minute buying, led by energy and oil and gas stocks, dealers said.
At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) finished 1.12 points higher at 1,770.26 from last Friday's close of 1,769.14.
The index opened 1.55 points lower at 1,767.59 and moved between 1,764.28 and 1,770.47 throughout the day.
However, the broader market was negative with decliners outpacing gainers 484 to 329 while 486 counters were unchanged, 621 untraded and 72 others were suspended.
Volume decreased to 2.19 billion units, valued at RM2.03 billion, from Friday's 2.34 billion units, worth RM1.98 billion.
Tenaga increased four sen to RM15.14, Petronas Chemicals gained one sen to RM8.85, Petronas Gas added 12 sen to RM19.12 and Petronas Dagangan rose 14 sen to RM27.00.
A dealer said Bursa Malaysia gained traction despite the lower trend in regional bourses.
"Most investors were on the alert looking out for corporate results from the United States and Malaysia, as well, as the outcome of key policy meetings by the world's biggest central banks including the US Federal Reserve this week.
"However, the benchmark index was also aided by higher oil prices which cushioned some of the negative impact lingering in the market," a dealer told Bernama.
Of heavyweights, Maybank eased three sen to RM9.85, Public Bank fell two sen to RM24.02, CIMB lost five sen to RM5.84 and IHH erased nine sen to RM5.96.
Among actives, MYEG dipped eight sen to RM1.14, Velesto added half-a-sen to 30.5 sen but MRCB shed 2.5 sen to 78.5 sen.
The FBM Emas Index was 0.19 of-a-point easier at 12,558.09 but the FBMT 100 Index increased 3.82 points to 12,340.88 and the FBM Emas Syariah Index rose 4.02 points to 12,695.35.
The FBM Ace Index reduced 19.52 points to 5,439.62 and the FBM 70 fell 10.05 points to 15,484.76.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index added 18.36 points to 7,571.32 but the Industrial Index declined 1.09 points to 3,283.82 and the Finance Index slipped 11.56 points to 17,441.69.
Main Market volume decreased to 1.42 billion shares, worth RM1.81 billion, from 1.68 billion shares, valued at RM1.79 billion, recorded on Friday.
Warrant turnover was firmer at 491.31 million units valued at RM138.73 million versus Friday's 413.60 million units worth RM126.27 million.
Volume on the ACE Market rose to 279.50 million shares, worth RM81.65 million, from 244.26 million shares, valued at RM63.60 million, transacted last week.
Consumer products accounted for 64.19 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products (269.78 million), construction (164.02 million), trade and services (592.83 million), technology (79.47 million), infrastructure (12.12 million), SPAC (52,200), finance (46.21 million), hotels (6.60 million), properties (163.74 million), plantations (21.55 million), mining (14,400), REITs (5.18 million), and closed/fund (5,000).
The physical price of gold as at 5pm stood at RM154.42 per gramme, up 30 sen from RM154.12 at 5pm last Friday. — Bernama