KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia rallied to close broadly higher on Wednesday amid strong buying interests mainly in utility and technology stocks, with the benchmark index gaining 0.44 per cent.
At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 7.13 points to 1,614.09 from Tuesday’s close of 1,606.96.
The index opened marginally higher at 1,606.97 and moved between 1,606.53 and 1,616.03 throughout the day.
Advancers thumped decliners 727 to 381 on the broader market, with 522 counters unchanged, 781 untraded and 10 suspended.
Turnover advanced to 3.60 billion units valued at RM3.30 billion versus 3.32 billion units valued at RM3.30 billion on Tuesday.
Apex Securities Bhd head of research Kenneth Leong said the FBM KLCI extended its gains for the third straight session to solidify its position above the 1,600 psychological level, ahead of the semi-annual FTSE Bursa Malaysia review announcement.
He said the extended broad-based recovery was mainly driven by gains across utilities giants.
"Going forward, we expect the key index to stabilise above 1,600 points amid subtle signs of year-end window dressing activities.
"Key focus will turn towards the US Federal Reserve (Fed) chairman Jerome Powell's speech later tonight that may guide the pace of future interest rate cuts,” he told Bernama.
UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors' head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan attributed the renewed buying interest in utility stocks partly to the optimism about upcoming data centre projects.
"In the initial phase of data centre construction, securing a reliable power supply is paramount.
"As construction progresses according to schedule, it helps manage costs effectively, ensuring that all other supply chains within the data centre are installed on time,” he said.
Among Bursa Malaysia’s Sectoral Indices, the Bursa Malaysia Technology Index continued its third-day gain, surging 2.63 per cent, taking cues from the rally in major US technology stocks, he added.
Meanwhile, the Utilities Index soared 1.50 per cent.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank was flat at RM10.18 while CIMB fell one sen to RM8.20.
In contrast, Public Bank bagged two sen to RM4.53, Tenaga Nasional surged 26 sen to RM13.64, and IHH climbed eight sen to RM7.30.
Among active stocks, Zen Tech was flat at one sen, Top Glove perked up five sen to RM1.22, Reservoir Link and Bumi Armada
added 2.5 sen each to 36.5 sen and 59.5 sen respectively, and Cape EMS ticked up one sen to 38.5 sen.
The Main Market volume expanded to 2.00 billion units worth RM3.04 billion against Tuesday’s close of 1.94 billion units worth RM3.06 billion.
Warrants turnover improved to 991.02 million units valued at RM88.62 million from 955.66 million units valued at RM92.25 million previously.
The ACE Market volume surged to 604.62 million units worth RM174.58 million compared with 422.23 million units worth RM153.55 million yesterday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 237.67 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (357.48 million), construction (125.78 million), technology (311.90 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (117.75 million), property (260.68 million), plantation (55.61 million), REITs (13.34 million), closed/fund (7,500), energy (226.34 million), healthcare (172.20 million), telecommunications and media (27.56 million), transportation and logistics (24.86 million), utilities (75.94 million), and business trusts (93,300). - Bernama
