Market Daily Report: Bursa Malaysia ends first trading week of 2022 in positive territory on bargain hunting

 

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 7): Bursa Malaysia ended the first trading week of 2022 on a firm note, with gains recorded across the board on continuous buying support for small capitalisation stocks and selected heavyweights, dealers said.

The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rebounded from heavy selling on Thursday (Jan 6) to close 9.75 points higher at 1,543.11 on Friday, just a tad lower than its intra-day high of 1,543.17.

The index opened 1.45 points better at 1,534.81 but fluctuated to as low as 1,531.54 amid mixed market sentiment.

The overall market breadth was bullish with gainers beating decliners 600 to 338, while 399 counters were unchanged, 936 untraded, and 21 others suspended.

Total turnover almost doubled at 4.14 billion units worth RM1.9 billion versus 2.87 billion units valued at RM1.9 billion on Thursday.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Malaysian equities rebounded due to bargain hunting on selected heavyweight stocks in glove, plantation, and banking.

Investors were also looking for value buys, especially on small-cap stocks, he said.

“The FBM KLCI remains well supported above the 1,530 level, hence we reckon the accumulation of stocks to persist on dips,” he told Bernama.

Plantation stocks were the biggest contributor to the Composite Index, with Sime Darby Plantation Bhd jumping 3.96% while IOI Corp Bhd advanced 3.47%.

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said while local equities were quite volatile on Friday, the benchmark FBM KLCI appeared well supported in the afternoon session.

“New money perhaps. Some institutional investors would see some value in stocks, especially with the recent sell-off. It’s just about finding the right entry point and now could be the right time,” he said.

Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd gained two sen to RM8.32, Public Bank Bhd rose four sen to RM4.16, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd garnered six sen to RM8.79, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd perked up three sen to RM5.46, while IHH Healthcare Bhd trimmed two sen to RM6.74.

Of the actives, MQ Technology Bhd earned four sen to 10.5 sen, SMTrack Bhd bagged 1.5 sen to 29.5 sen, DGB Asia Bhd inched up half-a-sen to 3.5 sen, while AT Systematization Bhd and Key Alliance Group Bhd were flat at three sen and 1.5 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 58.52 points firmer at 11,217.42, the FBMT 100 Index improved 57.21 points to 10,903.64, the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 63.58 points to 12,059.48, the FBM ACE soared 110.05 points to 6,692.03 and the FBM 70 gained 24.72 points to 14,327.41.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index advanced 86.22 points to 15,707.424, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 1.14 points to 202.27, while the Plantation Index surged 115.86 points to 6,718.83 amid firmer crude palm oil prices and ahead of the earnings season.

The Main Market volume increased slightly to 1.97 billion shares worth RM1.5 billion compared with 1.72 billion shares worth RM1.63 billion on Thursday.

Warrants turnover expanded to 247.1 million units worth RM32.95 million from 202.45 million units worth RM25.22 million on Thursday.

The ACE Market volume widened to 1.92 billion shares worth RM364.64 million versus 943.76 million shares valued at RM242.55 million previously.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 402.64 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (559.48 million), construction (81.75 million), technology (309.93 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (47.14 million), property (217.1 million), plantation (10.39 million), REITs (4.4 million), closed/fund (17,100), energy (185.18 million), healthcare (52.89 million), telecommunications and media (27.09 million), transportation and logistics (54.06 million), and utilities (16.52 million).

 

Source: The Edge