KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia recouped earlier losses to close higher today as late buying lifted the benchmark index to its intraday high on market expectations that Bank Negara’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will maintain the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at its meeting tomorrow.
Key regional indices, particularly in China and Hong Kong, recorded significant gains as China’s October Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data revealed stronger-than-anticipated growth in the services sector.
At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 4.27 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 1,620.70 from Monday’s close of 1,616.43.
The benchmark index opened 1.77 points firmer at 1,618.20 and subsequently hit a low of 1,613.91 in the early session before gaining its upward momentum in the late trading session.
Market breadth was positive, with advancers trouncing decliners 512 to 476, while 496 counters were unchanged, 895 untraded, and eight suspended.
Turnover expanded to 2.58 billion units valued at RM2.47 billion versus 2.41 billion units valued at RM2.15 billion on Monday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the local market’s favourable performance was also buoyed by sustained buying interest in plantation stocks.
"We maintain a cautiously optimistic outlook for the local bourse. While market sentiment has shown signs of improvement, we recognise that investor expectations may fluctuate with shifts in the macroeconomic landscape.
"Accordingly, we maintain our weekly FBM KLCI target at 1,610-1,630, representing key support and resistance levels,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said the FBM KLCI was positive on the US election day, demonstrating resilience in the face of a major economic event.
"The index's strength reflects earlier profit-taking by investors, particularly around two weeks ago, followed by consistent inflows this week.
"Market participants appear more neutral about the election’s impact on Bursa Malaysia, as both US parties have put forth pro-business policies,” he added.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank added 10.0 sen to RM10.54, CIMB Group
gained 8.0 sen to RM8.12, Public Bank perked up 1.0 sen to RM4.43, Tenaga Nasional was flat at RM14.08, and IHH Healthcare fell 2.0 sen to RM7.31.
Among the actives, Cape EMS rose 1.5 sen to 36 sen, Sorento Capital gained 3.0 sen to 42.5 sen, Aizo Group added 1.0 sen to 15.5 sen, Ta Win Holdings increased 1.0 sen to 2.5 sen, and OB Holdings edged up half-a-sen to 27 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 21.44 points to 12,227.24, the FBMT 100 Index increased 21.63 points to 11,938.82, and the FBM ACE Index advanced 10.27 points to 5,069.08, while the FBM Emas Shariah Index shed 10.47 points to 12,184.81, and the FBM 70 Index eased 4.14 points to 17,736.76.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index jumped 118.85 points to 19,167.53, the Plantation Index put on 32.54 points to 7,612.43, while the Industrial Products and Services Index declined 2.59 points to 172.31, and the Energy Index slid 5.05 points to 837.35.
The Main Market volume edged up to 1.34 billion units worth RM2.16 billion from Monday’s 1.32 billion units worth RM1.85 billion.
Warrants turnover expanded to 783.54 million units valued at RM134.61 million from 609.49 million units valued at RM104.46 million previously.
The ACE Market volume dwindled to 463.49 million units worth RM171.97 million versus 481.89 million units worth RM190.91 million yesterday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 207.43 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (346.35 million), construction (109.62 million), technology (118.94 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (71.86 million), property (139.27 million), plantation (51.16 million), REITs (13.68 million), closed/fund (40,300), energy (112.61 million), healthcare (79.12 million), telecommunications and media (28.37 million), transportation and logistics (26.15 million), utilities (33.38 million), and business trusts (370,100). - Bernama
