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.
Financial Performance & Growth Drivers Hap Seng Plantations Holdings Bhd (HSPLANT) posted a net profit of RM85.01 million in 4QFY2024 , a fourfold increase from RM20.69 million a year earlier . The sharp profit growth was driven by higher crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel (PK) selling prices, as well as increased CPO sales volume . Fair value adjustments of biological assets contributed RM24.4 million in gains , compared to a RM21.1 million loss in 4QFY2023 . Revenue & Dividend 4Q revenue surged 33.7% YoY to RM223.37 million from RM174.56 million . CPO prices rose 26.1%, while PK prices jumped 66.3% . CPO sales volume grew 4% , though PK sales declined 7% due to a lower kernel extraction rate . FY2024 net profit more than doubled to RM204.64 million , while revenue increased 12.7% to RM752.45 million . Declared a second interim dividend of 11 sen per share , bringing total FY2024 dividends to 12.5 sen , up from 6.8 sen in FY202...