KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI ended in the positive territory on late bargain hunting, with support in the broader market primarily seen in small-cap energy as well as transportation and logistics stocks.
At 5 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 1.84 points to 1,499.39 from Friday’s close of 1,497.55.
The key index opened 2.20 points higher at 1,499.75 and moved between 1,494.15 and 1,500.95 throughout the session.
On the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 478 to 472, while 395 counters were unchanged, 873 untraded and 54 others suspended.
Turnover slipped to 4.56 billion units worth RM2.44 billion against Friday’s 4.62 billion units worth RM2.42 billion.
Commenting on today’s market performance, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the market bellwether was again stuck within a tight consolidation mode due to lack of fresh catalysts.
“Nonetheless, we reckon the outlook of the local equities to remain steady due to prevailing low valuations while the fundamentals of the local economy remains strong. As such, we anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within the 1,490 to1,505 region for the week, with immediate resistance at 1,500 and support at 1,470,” he told Bernama.
On the regional stock markets, Thong said the key markets closed broadly lower ahead of the United States (US) Federal Reserve’s (Fed) meeting and key economic data this week.
“While the US Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points, its outlook on monetary policy will be closely watched,” he added.
The regional key indices were mixed, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 adding 0.19 per cent to 27,433.40, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 2.73 per cent to 22,069.73, Singapore’s Strait Times Index slid 0.47 per cent to 3,378.29, and South Korea’s Kospi erased 1.35 per cent to 2,450.47.
Back home, Bursa Malaysia heavyweights Maybank and CIMB perked up four sen to RM8.78 and RM5.78, respectively, Public Bank was one sen better at RM4.26, while Petronas Chemicals rose three sen to RM8.45 and Tenaga Nasional dipped four sen to RM9.51.
As for the actives, Hong Seng Consolidated added 2.5 sen to 20.5 sen while its warrant gained half-a-sen to two sen, Zen Tech climbed 1.5 sen at 6.5 sen, ATA IMS put on 2,5 sen to 43 sen, and Velesto was one sen better at 23 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index garnered 16.27 points to 10,909.63, the FBMT 100 Index added 13.55 points to 10,577.46 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 12.08 points to 11,189.63.
The FBM 70 Index rose 20.26 points to 13,780.10 and the FBM ACE Index advanced 27.28 points to 5,758.51.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index improved by 0.53 of-a-point to 191.30, the Energy Index perked up 12.53 points to 893.29, the Plantation Index was 8.83 points higher at 6,850.06, and the Financial Services Index went up 67.86 points to 16,538.05.
The Main Market volume increased to 3.08 billion shares worth RM2.03 billion compared with last Friday’s 2.88 billion shares worth RM2.02 billion.
Warrants turnover slipped to 349.42 million units worth RM58.05 million from 419.36 million units worth RM57.86 million previously.
The ACE Market volume declined to 1.13 billion shares worth RM347.61 million from 1.32 billion shares worth RM345.66 million on Friday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 320.59 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (823.21 million); construction (189.43 million); technology (637.02 million); SPAC (nil), financial services (86.36 million); property (205.79 million); plantation (39.53 million); REITs (14.27 million), closed/fund (9,000); energy (504.87 million); healthcare (61.81 million); telecommunications and media (47.61 million); transportation and logistics (122.43 million); and utilities (25.01 million).-Bernama
