KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 20 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended higher on Thursday as easing US Treasury yields improved risk appetite following the US Treasury’s announcement of increased buyback operations, an analyst said. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 5.39 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 1,736.71 compared with Wednesday’s close of 1,731.32. The benchmark index opened 0.79 of a point higher at 1,732.11, and fluctuated between 1,732.11 and 1,739.13 throughout the day. On the broader market, losers outpaced gainers 610 to 577, while 610 counters were unchanged, 1,075 untraded and 16 suspended. Turnover increased to 4.28 billion units valued at RM4.01 billion from 3.31 billion units valued at RM2.92 billion on Wednesday. IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said lower yields helped ease pressure on growth stocks, with technology counters benefitting from renewed investor interest.
The Malaysian stock market experienced a modest retreat on Tuesday, with the FBM KLCI index closing down by 6.69 points, or 0.42%. The market fluctuated within a 13.09-point range, hitting an intra-day high of 1589.06 and a low of 1575.97.
Sector-wise, the Finance Index fell by 0.34% to 17214.15 points, the Properties Index edged down by 0.12% to 1018.79 points, and the Plantation Index decreased by 0.30% to 7436.76 points.
Trading volumes contracted slightly to 4180.48 million shares worth RM3748.22 million, compared to Monday's 4241.70 million shares valued at RM3480.47 million.
The list of actively traded stocks was topped by HSI-CVZ, MYEG, ICONIC-WA, CLASSITA, ICONIC, MKHOP, HSI-HUF, FITTERS, YTL, and BPURI.
Leading the gains in the KLCI index were AXIATA, TM, MAXIS, SIME, and RHBBANK, with AXIATA up by 3 sen to RM2.83, TM rising by 6 sen to RM6.19, MAXIS increasing by 3 sen to RM3.67, SIME gaining 2 sen to RM2.80, and RHBBANK advancing by 3 sen to RM5.50. On the flip side, YTLPOWR, YTL, PETCHEM, PBBANK, and PPB were the main laggards, with notable declines in their share prices.
The market breadth was narrowly positive, with 524 gainers slightly outpacing 521 losers.
As the market closes, investors are reminded that the Bursa Malaysia will be closed tomorrow in observance of Labour Day, a national public holiday. Trading activities will resume on the following business day, providing investors with a break to reflect on market conditions and strategize for the coming trading sessions.
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