KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended higher today, driven by bargain-hunting in selected financial and energy blue chips amid a mixed performance in regional markets, dealers said.
At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 5.79 points to end at 1,460.62 from 1,454.83 at Tuesday’s close.
The barometer index opened 0.18 points higher at 1,455.01 and moved between 1,454.25 and 1,463.04 during the session. On the broader market, gainers thumped decliners 531 to 380, with 458 counters unchanged, 942 untraded and seven others suspended.
Turnover increased marginally to 4.18 billion units worth RM2.13 billion against Tuesday’s 4.09 billion units worth RM2.39 billion.
CIMB and Mr DIY were the top two contributors towards the local benchmark index’s uptrend with a total of 2.31 points,, rising 7.0 sen each to RM5.72 and RM1.52, respectively.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said shares in Bursa Malaysia closed mostly higher with the buying mainly in energy stocks that rode on rising crude oil prices.
"Key regional indices finished mixed as investors were cautious following negative cues from global equities overnight. Rising crude oil prices are amplifying inflation concerns which may cause central banks to reconsider their stance on interest rates.
"China and Hong Kong stocks saw high volatility ahead of China's August trade data set to be released on Thursday,” he told Bernama today.
He said the near term outlook remains cautious but the local bourse was being fuelled by its enticing valuations, increasing trade volume and continuous support from local institutions.
"Hence, we anticipate the benchmark index to trend within the 1,455-1,475 range for the rest of the week. From a technical point of view, immediate resistance and support are unchanged at 1,490 and 1,440 respectively,” he added.
Among other heavyweights, Maybank and Tenaga Nasional improved 5.0 sen each to RM9.18 and RM9.96, respectively, while Petronas Chemicals gained 6.0 sen to RM7.20.
Public Bank was flat at RM4.25 and IHH Healthcare declined 2.0 sen to RM5.90.
Of the actives, KNM Group added 2.0 sen to 12 sen, Sapura Energy
earned half-a-sen to 6.0 sen, Ekovest rose 1.0 sen to 54.5 sen while Classita was flat at 8.5 sen. - Bernama
