KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 23 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index recouped earlier losses to settle higher, maintaining a more than six-year high, buoyed by continued buying interest in technology stocks, while the strengthening of the ringgit against the US dollar further lifted investor sentiment. At 2.27 pm today, the local currency strengthened to 3.9992 versus the greenback, its strongest level in more than seven years. It was last seen at this level on June 18, 2018, at 3.9960/9990. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 2.85 points or 0.17 per cent to 1,719.99 from yesterday’s close of 1,717.14. The index surpassed its previous peak of 1,719.00 recorded on Feb 26, 2019. The barometer index opened 1.30 points lower at 1,715.84 and moved between an intraday low of 1,711.89 in early trade and a high of 1,723.41 in late afternoon before slipping slightly toward the close. However, market breadth was negative with decl...
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 26 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia’s key index recovered much of its earlier losses to end the week slightly lower amid profit-taking, snapping a five-day winning streak.
On Wednesday, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) touched a nearly 16-month high, closing at 1,678.31.
At 5 pm, the barometer index fell 1.21 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 1,677.10, after opening 0.81 of-a-point weaker at 1,677.50.
The benchmark index traded within a tight range between 1,670.83 and 1,678.29 throughout the day.
The broader market was negative with decliners outpacing gainers 504 to 377, while 567 counters were unchanged, 1,326 untraded, and 60 suspended.
Turnover declined to 1.59 billion units worth RM1.29 billion from 2.04 billion units worth RM1.70 billion on Wednesday.
The market was closed yesterday in conjunction with Christmas Day.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan opined that a shortened trading week due to the Christmas and year-end holidays encouraged some profit-taking, while trading volume on Bursa Malaysia fell to just 1.59 billion units, well below the normal daily average of around 3.0 billion.
Although the index weakened earlier in the session, falling by nearly seven points, buying interest emerged towards the close, allowing the market to recover most of its losses.
“This intraday resilience suggests that underlying demand remains intact despite thin holiday liquidity.
“The FBM KLCI remains higher at about 4.5 per cent month-to-date, and the modest pullback is best interpreted as a technical consolidation following a strong rally rather than a deterioration in underlying market conditions,” he told Bernama.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank and IHH Healthcare lost eight sen to RM10.40 and 8.59, respectively, while Public Bank was flat at RM4.52. CIMB rose four sen to RM8.15 and Tenaga Nasional added six sen to RM13.66.
On the most active list, Bina Puri, Velesto and Borneo Oil gained half-a-sen each to 30 sen, 28 sen and one sen, respectively. Tanco added two sen to RM1.13 while Zetrix AI fell half-a-sen to 81.5 sen.
For top gainers, Malayan Cement jumped 29 sen to RM7.63, Hume Cement added 20 sen to RM3.35, both Malayan Pacific Industries and Hong Leong Bank climbed 18 sen to RM32.60 and RM22.42, while Allianz was 14 sen firmer at RM20.34.
As for top losers, BLD Plantation slid 88 sen to RM14.42, Ideal Capital tumbled 25 sen to RM3.40, PLB and Panasonic shed 20 sen each to 80 sen and RM7.0, while Bintulu Port shrank 15 sen to RM5.35.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index sank 17.77 points to 12,288.14, the FBM Top 100 Index trimmed 16.87 points to 12,090.67, the FBM Emas Shariah Index slid 29.02 points to 12,105.61 and the FBM 70 Index fell 59.94 points to 16,802.57.
The FBM ACE Index advanced 31.62 points to 4,859.79.
By sector, the Financial Services Index climbed 4.39 points to 19,628.38, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.02 of-a-point to 174.03, and the Plantation Index put on 20.60 points to 8,299.52, while the Energy Index eased 0.91 of-a-point to 765.77.
The Main Market volume dipped to 1.03 billion units worth RM1.17 billion from 1.15 billion units worth RM1.55 billion on Wednesday.
Warrants turnover tumbled to 334.97 million units worth RM27.61 million against 637.43 million units worth RM47.11 million previously.
The ACE Market volume declined to 224.49 million units valued at RM87.30 million versus 250.65 million units valued at RM95.02 million last Wednesday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 146.39 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (197.02 million), construction (143.24 million), technology (154.52 million), financial services (39.12 million), property (104.23 million), plantation (14.22 million), real estate investment trusts (7.16 million), closed-end fund (2,800), energy (88.29 million), healthcare (54.44 million), telecommunications and media (33.98 million), transportation and logistics (35.37 million), utilities (14.76 million), and business trusts (59,700).
Source: Bernama
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