Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia closed higher today, mirroring the positive performance of most regional markets, driven by persistent buying in selected heavyweights, a dealer reported. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased by 8.62 points, or 0.55 percent, to settle at 1,584.96, up from Friday's close of 1,576.34. The index opened 1.92 points higher at 1,578.26, fluctuating between 1,575.48 and 1,588.61 throughout the day.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the overall market was slightly negative, with 514 decliners surpassing 491 advancers, while 469 counters remained unchanged, 1,112 untraded, and six suspended. The market turnover increased to 2.54 billion units worth RM2.72 billion, up from 2.01 billion units worth RM2.03 billion recorded on Friday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng, noted that the FBM KLCI resumed its upward trend after two days of profit-taking, as sentiment continued to improve. Key regional indices were higher, supported by progress in US-Russia talks over a potential ceasefire in Ukraine. Investors are also closely monitoring signals on US interest rates from the Federal Reserve's annual retreat in Jackson Hole.
Thong expressed optimism about the positive developments in improving geopolitical conditions on the domestic front. He observed that the benchmark index is currently testing the 1,585 resistance level, closing just below this immediate threshold at 1,584.96. He anticipates the local benchmark index to trend within the range of 1,570-1,600 for the week, suggesting that a breakout above 1,585 with significant volume could pave the way towards 1,600, followed by 1,636.
In the heavyweights category, Maybank slipped 2.0 sen to RM9.78, Public Bank gained 1.0 sen to RM4.46, CIMB rose 8.0 sen to RM7.33, while Tenaga Nasional and IHH Healthcare remained unchanged at RM13.62 and RM6.82, respectively. Among the most active counters, Tanco increased by half-a-sen to 73.5 sen, while Velesto and Oversea Enterprise stayed flat at 18.5 sen and 2.5 sen, respectively. Pharmaniaga decreased by half-a-sen to 17 sen.
Across the broader market, the FBM Emas Index climbed 47.74 points to 11,778.80, the FBMT 100 Index rose 49.73 points to 11,562.59, the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 38.78 points to 11,693.63, the FBM 70 Index advanced 13.89 points to 16,674.57, and the FBM ACE Index increased by 0.77 of-a-point to 4,714.22.
In sectoral performance, the Financial Services Index increased by 50.30 points to 18,130.37, the Plantation Index gained 30.73 points to 7,534.76, the Industrial Products and Services Index rose by 0.63 of-a-point to 158.35, while the Energy Index fell by 2.48 points to 738.35.
The Main Market volume rose to 2.54 billion units valued at RM2.72 billion, compared to Friday's 1.17 billion units valued at RM1.82 billion. Warrants turnover surged to 694.21 million units worth RM98.99 million, up from 474.97 million units worth RM66.97 million previously. The ACE Market volume expanded to 459.40 million units worth RM150.63 million from 359.0 million units worth RM135.16 million last Friday.
In the Main Market, consumer products and services counters accounted for 228.71 million shares traded; industrial products and services for 182.62 million, construction for 153.34 million, technology for 158.41 million, financial services for 92.19 million, property for 160.26 million, plantation for 22.70 million, REITs for 28.55 million, closed-end fund for 5,800, energy for 20.35 million, healthcare for 90.43 million, telecommunications and media for 37.71 million, transportation and logistics for 39.43 million, utilities for 71.57 million, and business trusts for 37,500.