KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index edged higher at the close as bargain hunting emerged following Monday’s sharp sell-off, although it narrowly failed to reclaim the 1,600 level, said an analyst. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 3.83 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 1,599.58 from Monday’s close of 1,595.75. The index opened 3.18 points lower at 1,592.57, marking its intraday low, and reached an intraday high of 1,602.83 in early trading. On the broader market, decliners outnumbered gainers 751 to 331, while 499 counters were unchanged, 1,259 untraded and 10 suspended. Turnover rose to 2.86 billion units worth RM2.42 billion against Monday’s 2.49 billion units worth RM2.38 billion.
KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 3): The FBM KLCI rose 11.53 points or 0.68% to 1,685.01 today on a stronger buying interest, especially in plantations and telecommunication stocks, despite the move by China's central bank to tighten monetary policy.
Notable gainers also included metal related companies such as Press Metal Bhd and A-Rank Bhd.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd analyst Kenneth Leong said today's uptrend is is a continuation of the modestly positive momentum seen yesterday.
"Despite the strengthening of monetary policy from People's Bank of China, the FBM KLCI climbed due to (gains in the) telecommunications and plantations sectors," he told theedgemarkets.com when contacted.
He noted that the monetary policy move resulted in stocks falling on the Hong Kong and Shanghai markets.
The People's Bank of China raised the interest rate on open market operation reverse repurchase agreements (repos) by 10 basis points. The move reinforced views that Chinese authorities are intent on both containing capital outflows and reining in risks to the financial system created by years of debt-fueled stimulus, said Reuters.
A total of 1.96 billion shares worth RM2.04 billion changed hands. There were 519 gainers versus 317 decliners, while 371 counters closed unchanged.
The top gainer was DanaInfra Nasional Bhd while British American Tobacco (M) Bhd led the decliners list. The most actively-traded counter was Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd.
Across Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 inched up 0.02% and South Korea's Kospi rose 0.1%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.24% and the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.59%.
Reuters reported that Nikkei shares ended flat in choppy trade today as investors awaited the release of the US monthly jobs report, which will set the tone for the Federal Reserve's policy outlook, while bank stocks outperformed on higher yields.
Source: The Edge
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