KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia settled above the 1,600 level Wednesday, boosted by oil and gas counters – Petronas Chemical, Petronas Dagangan as well as Axiata.
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 6.45 points to close at its intra-day high of 1,602.30.
The market barometer opened 2.03 points better at 1,597.88.
Phillip Capital Management senior vice-president (investment) Datuk Nazri Khan Adam Khan said despite volatility surrounding Axiata-Telenor mega-merger failure, FBM KLCI managed to open higher.
He said oil and gas-related counters staged a strong performance in tandem with the strength shown in global oil prices.
However, foreign investors he said, are shifting away from Malaysia’s financial market following discouraging gross international reserve data, which shrank by 0.4 per cent to US$103.5 billion as of Aug 30, 2019.
“Overall, we expect the FBM KLCI to flirt around 1,600 level with the recent telco merger clouding sentiment and oil and gas service providers should shine as global oil prices are on hopes for Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) production cuts.
“As the prospects of Opec and major oil producers are strengthening their alliance to reduce oil price volatility amid waning energy demand, aggressive investors might consider capitalising on it,” he said.
Furthermore, the government are also seeking fiscal space to prioritise sustainable economic growth by not introducing new tax measures in the upcoming 2020 Budget.
According to the MOF, such expansionary measures will help raise the confidence of the corporate sector and investment community.
Hence, Nazri said Bank Negara Malaysia may embark on another rate cut with the overnight policy rate (OPR) settling at 2.75 per cent amid softer economic growth and the ongoing easing cycle from major central banks around the globe.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd’s chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said there also seem a positive development from China with regards to the scrapping of investment quota limits on equities -- Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFII) and the Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (RQFII).
“Additionally, the Chinese government has announced the exemption of certain products imported from the US.
“Such development would pave the way for bilateral discussion scheduled next month, which could lessen the friction.
“This may have translated into better sentiments in Bursa Malaysia. Already, the FBM KLCI is still at the oversold position and therefore, there could be technical rebound in the immediate terms,” he told Bernama.
Among heavyweights, Petronas Chemical rose 23 sen to RM7.23, Axiata was nine sen higher at RM4.20 and Petronas Dagangan jumped RM1.68 to RM23.88.
Hong Leong Financial Group improved 34 sen to RM16.64 and Digi up one sen to RM4.61.
Of the actives, Metronic dropped 1.5 sen to 5.5 sen, Green Packet went up half-a-sen to 24.5 sen and Bumi Armada was flat at 28.5 sen.
The FBM Emas Index edged up 50.07 points to 11,291.86, the FBMT100 Index was 47.21 points stronger at 11,127.81 and the FBM Emas Syariah Index edged up 70.72 points to 11,817.15.
The FBM Ace advanced 26.24 points to 4,505.73 and the FBM 70 went up 68.79 points to 13,889.26.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index gained 44.40 points to 15,561.10, the Plantation Index inched up 18.53 points to 6,845.74 and the Industrial Products and Services Index was 1.95 points better at 150.99.
Market breadth was positive gainers outpaced losers 424 to 359, with 438 counters unchanged, 739 untraded and 16 others suspended.
Turnover was higher at 2.33 billion units worth RM1.78 billion from 2.19 billion units worth RM1.92 billion on Tuesday.
Main Market volume stood at 1.51 billion shares worth RM1.62 billion compared to the 1.51 billion shares valued at RM1.79 billion yesterday.
Warrants turnover inched up to 492.50 million units worth RM98.99 million from 389.84 million units valued at RM78.67 million.
Volume on the ACE Market widened to 318.31 million shares worth RM61.33 million vis-a-vis 285.81 million shares valued at RM53.62 million previously.
Consumer products and services accounted for 217.38 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (315.46 million), construction (82.26 million), technology (82.60 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (35.61 million), property (110.20 million), plantations (12.65 million), REITs (12.98 million), closed/fund (100), energy (330.09 million), healthcare (37.55 million), telecommunications and media (216.88 million), transportation and logistics (39.40 million), and utilities (21.65 million).
The physical price of gold as at 5pm stood at RM194.04 per gramme, up 29 sen from RM193.75 at 5pm yesterday. — Bernama
