KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia rebounded to close higher on Wednesday on selective buying of defensive stocks after a volatile trading session. IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said consumer products and services stocks lifted the key index higher, overcoming lingering geopolitical concerns. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.08 points to 1,715.56 from yesterday’s close of 1,712.48. The benchmark index, which opened 1.91 points higher at 1,714.39, moved between 1,710.79 and 1,720.59 during the day’s trading. In the broader market, gainers outstripped decliners 550 to 476, while 612 counters were unchanged, 1,129 untraded, and 48 suspended. Turnover rose to 2.96 billion units valued at RM2.48 billion from 2.94 billion units valued at RM2.56 billion on Tuesday.
KUALA LUMPUR (June 24): It was another bleak performance for the FBM KLCI today as it fell 4.41 points or 0.29% to close at 1,502.63 after trending lower for much of the day.
An analyst said the benchmark index was dragged down by Petronas-related heavyweights following Petronas Nasional Bhd's move to withdraw its legal action over the 5% petroleum sales tax imposed by the Sarawak government.
“At the same time, the pullback in crude oil prices due to the larger-than-expected weekly inventory build-up compounded the weakness,” Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd analyst Kenneth Leong told theedgemarkets.com.
Petronas Dagangan Bhd was the worst hit stock among the KLCI constituents, falling RM1.04 or 4.59% to close at RM21.64.
This was followed by Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd, which fell 19 sen or 2.17% to RM8.55, and Genting Malaysia Bhd, which was five sen or 1.87% lower at RM2.63.
“For now, we will continue to observe the 1,500 level as the immediate support,” said Leong. “Should that level fail to hold, we think that weakness may prevail over the near term.”
“At the same time, investors would be keeping an eye on the final reading of US 1Q2020 gross domestic product data tomorrow evening,” Leong added.
Overall, 5.39 billion shares worth RM2.6 billion were traded on Bursa Malaysia today, with 556 losers and 409 gainers.
Elsewhere in Asia, Reuters reported that shares cleared a four-month high as investors remained stubbornly upbeat on the outlook for a reopening of the global economy even as cases of the coronavirus looked to be accelerating to new peaks.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.5% to reach its highest since pandemic lockdowns first cratered markets in early March.
Source: The Edge
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