Muristek
KUALA LUMPUR, May 26 — Bursa Malaysia extended yesterday’s gains to end higher today, supported by buying demand in selected industrial products and services as well as telecommunications and media counters amid cautious sentiment on regional bourses, dealers said.
Press Metal and Telekom Malaysia were the top two gainers, putting on 14.0 sen to RM5.44 and 26.0 sen to RM4.97, respectively, and contributed a total of 3.68 points to the gains in the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI).
At 5pm, the benchmark index rose 5.59 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 1,541.15 from yesterday’s close of 1,535.56, after moving between 1,535.89 and 1,541.75 throughout the day.
The FBM KLCI opened 4.16 points higher at 1,539.72.
However, market breadth was negative with decliners outpacing advancers 557 to 406, while 364 counters were unchanged, 986 untraded, and 31 others suspended.
Total turnover rose to 2.89 billion units worth RM1.92 billion from 2.34 billion units worth RM1.80 billion yesterday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI moved higher as investors continued to bargain hunt for stocks at reduced levels after the recent heavy selldown.
“Regionally, the key indices closed mixed as investors remained wary of the economic impact of China’s ongoing Covid-19 lockdowns. Meanwhile, the Bank of Korea’s announcement of a 25-basis points increase in its base rate to 1.75 per cent would add some pressure on equities valuations.
“As for the local bourse, we believe the market is oversold (earlier), however, we advise investors to stay alert on the increasing market volatility and external uncertainties. We anticipate the benchmark index to remain sideways within the range of 1,535-1,545 towards the weekend, with immediate support at 1,520 and resistance at 1,560,” he told Bernama today.
Regionally, Singapore’s Straits Times Index added 0.93 per cent to 3,209.28, Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.27 per cent to 26,604.84, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.27 per cent to 20,116.20, South Korea’s KOSPI decreased 0.18 per cent to 2,612.45, and China’s SSE Composite Index gained 0.50 per cent to 3,123.11.
Back home, heavyweights, Maybank and TNB added 2.0 sen each to RM8.96 and RM9.21, respectively, Public Bank advanced 5.0 sen to RM4.60, IHH Healthcare went up 6.0 sen to RM6.49, while Petronas Chemicals slipped 6.0 sen to RM9.87.
Of the actives, Serba Dinamik and Cypark increased 1.5 sen each to 11.5 sen and 39.5 sen, respectively, Cnergenz rose 10.5 sen to 67.5 sen, while Sapura Energy declined 1.0 sen to 7.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM ACE increased 15.06 points to 5,205.98, the FBM Emas Shariah Index went up 20.90 points to 11,353.82, the FBM Emas Index improved 35.09 points to 10,984.54, the FBMT 100 Index climbed 42.66 points to 10,675.81, and the FBM 70 put on 68.52 points to 13,088.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.88 of-a-point higher at 198.34, the Plantation Index slid 79.55 points to 7,988.69, and the Financial Services Index rose 94.18 points to 16,589.91.
The Main Market volume increased to 1.86 billion shares worth RM1.72 billion from 1.60 billion shares worth RM1.65 billion yesterday.
Warrants turnover swelled to 379.61 million units valued at RM74.24 million versus 290.37 million units valued at RM59.90 million previously.
The ACE Market volume expanded to 649.14 million shares worth RM181.37 million from 454.77 million shares worth RM98.44 million yesterday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 308.93 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (474.44 million), construction (46.75 million), technology (131.89 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (49 million), property (157.17 million), plantation (49.59 million), REITs (14.80 million), closed/fund (100), energy (471.82 million), healthcare (58.86 million), telecommunications and media (44.34 million), transportation and logistics (35.42 million), and utilities (19.89 million). — Bernama