KUALA LUMPUR: A rally in plantation stock, SD Guthrie, propelled by a jump in crude palm oil (CPO) price to a fresh 28-month high today, lifted Bursa Malaysia’s barometer index to breach above the key psychological support level of 1,600 on Friday.
However, selling pressure was evident in banking stocks, limiting the overall index gains, with the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) ending the day 2.1 points higher at 1,603.98 from Wednesday's close of 1,601.88.
The index had opened 10.82 points lower at 1,591.06 and subsequently moved between 1,589.27 and 1,607.04 throughout the day.
Across the broader market, decliners outpaced gainers 538 to 422 while 482 counters were unchanged, 933 untraded and 30 suspended.
Today’s turnover dwindled to 2.14 billion units valued at RM2.44 billion versus 2.52 billion units valued at RM2.96 billion on Wednesday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd’s equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said CPO futures surpassed RM4,900 per tonne today, drawing additional investor interest and supporting market resilience against global economic challenges.
The rally in CPO prices has lasted for three consecutive days, which was also boosted by higher crude oil prices amid expectations of increased demand from the United States and a likely delay in output increase by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
He said investors have been watching the rise in US Treasury bond yields, with expectations that the Federal Reserve may back off major interest rate cuts amid the generally solid US economic data.
Investors also expect more stimulus measures to be launched by China to shore up its economy despite the republic’s manufacturing sector showing growth, with the official Purchasing Managers' Index hitting 50.1 in October, ending a five-month contraction streak.
Back home, SD Guthrie led the gainers among heavyweights, with the counter soaring 35 sen or 7.6 per cent to RM4.95.
Public Bank added four sen to RM4.46, YTL Power rose nine sen to RM3.20, Axiata bagged five sen to RM2.31, and IOI Corp was seven sen higher at RM3.84.
Maybank is the main laggard, losing 10 sen to RM10.40, followed by Tenaga Nasional which declined 14 sen to RM13.90.
Among active counters, MyEG and TWL Holdings perked up half-a-sen to 84 sen and 3.0 sen respectively, Elridge Energy advanced four sen to 48 sen, Johor Plantations was eight sen firmer at RM1.13, while Bina Puri slid six sen to 30 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index climbed 25.11 points to 12,128.34, the FBMT 100 Index rose 25.69 points to 11,839.79, the FBM Emas Shariah Index garnered 40.28 points to 12,102.44 and the FBM 70 Index jumped 76.06 points to 17,678.93, while the FBM ACE Index trimmed 9.30 points to 4,996.35.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index soared 202.60 points to 7,456.37 and the Energy Index inched up 3.55 points to 838.80.
The Financial Services Index shaved off 81.92 points to 19,004.76 and the Industrial Products and Services Index eased by 0.60 of-a-point to 173.57.
The Main Market volume narrowed to 1.23 billion units worth RM2.25 billion from Wednesday’s 1.46 billion units worth RM2.70 billion.
Warrants turnover declined to 579.27 million units valued at RM88.66 million from 622.42 million units valued at RM105.06 million previously.
The ACE Market volume fell to 331.46 million units worth RM106.75 million versus 434.67 million units worth RM158.01 million on Wednesday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 178.45 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (195.03 million), construction (116.61 million), technology (140.51 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (90.67 million), property (163.66 million), plantation (76.98 million), REITs (14.29 million), closed/fund (56,600), energy (94.37 million), healthcare (55.11 million), telecommunications and media (29.75 million), transportation and logistics (20.75 million), utilities (51.19 million), and business trusts (205,100).
The market was closed yesterday in conjunction with the Deepavali public holiday. - Bernama
