KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia rebounded from yesterday’s losses to end higher today, on buying support in selected heavyweights amid mixed market sentiment.
At 5 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 4.65 points to finish at 1,596.84 from 1,592.19 at the close yesterday, after moving between 1,589.25 and 1,600.06 throughout the day.
The barometer index, which opened 2.32 points weaker at 1,589.87, moved in negative territory during the morning session but managed to recover during mid-day on the back of mixed headlines on US-China trade.
On the broader market, there were 398 gainers and 423 losers, while 412 counters were unchanged, 794 untraded and 15 others suspended.
Volume decreased to 2.56 billion shares worth RM1.99 billion from 2.93 billion shares valued at RM2.15 billion on Thursday.
The recovery in Bursa today was also in tandem with regional markets, with Singapore’s Straits Times Index soaring 1.05 per cent to 3,225.65, Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.32 per cent to 23,112.88 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index increased 0.48 per cent to 26,595.08.
A dealer said sentiment in the market was influenced by a recent report that said US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were invited to Beijing under the invitation of Chinese Vice Premier Liu He for further talks on the trade.
This has caused confusion among investors, wherein sentiment has been compounded by news that US President Donald Trump is supportive of the Hong Kong bill.
Among heavyweights on Bursa, Public Bank rose four sen to RM19.86, Tenaga and Petronas Chemicals chalked up 10 sen each to RM13.58 and RM7.11 respectively, while Maybank was flat at RM8.64.
CIMB and IHH eased one sen each to RM5.37 and RM5.44 respectively.
Of the actives, Bumi Armada slipped one sen to 50.5 sen, KNM and Ekovest shed 2.5 sen each to 37.5 sen and 83 sen respectively, Key Asic added one sen to 6.5 sen while both Sapura Energy and AT Systematization were flat at 28.5 sen and 7.5 sen respectively.
The FBM Emas Index was 19.71 points higher at 11,328.49, the FBMT 100 Index bagged 21.61 points to 11,138.49, the FBM Ace increased 8.32 points to 4,891.1, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index perked up 33.74 points to 11,870.13.
However, the FBM 70 decreased 17.21 points to 14,103.61.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index earned 36.85 points to 7,178, the Industrial Products & Services Index added 0.64 of-a-point to 151.53, but the Financial Services Index contracted 16.85 points to 15,549.19.
Main Market volume slipped to 1.84 billion shares worth RM1.84 billion compared with 1.94 billion shares valued at RM1.98 billion transacted on Thursday.
Warrants turnover decreased to 274.38 million units worth RM626.79 million versus yesterday’s 394.17 million units valued at RM74.0 million.
Volume on the ACE Market shrank to 441.93 million units worth RM95.17 million compared with 593.65 million units valued at RM101.9 million previously.
Consumer products and services accounted for 230.9 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (250.63 million), construction (168.33 million), technology (178.69 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (48.80 million), property (167.77 million), plantations (94.43 million), REITs (5.09 million), closed/fund (23,900), energy (618.25 million), healthcare (17.01 million), telecommunications and media (26.86 million), transportation and logistics (15.57 million), and utilities (1.80 million). -Bernama
