KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia recouped earlier losses to close higher today as late buying lifted the benchmark index to its intraday high on market expectations that Bank Negara’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will maintain the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at its meeting tomorrow.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, key regional indices, particularly in China and Hong Kong, recorded significant gains as China’s October Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data revealed stronger-than-anticipated growth in the services sector. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 4.27 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 1,620.70 from Monday’s close of 1,616.43. The benchmark index opened 1.77 points firmer at 1,618.20 and subsequently hit a low of 1,613.91 in the early session before gaining its upward momentum in the late trading session.
Market breadth was positive, with advancers trouncing decliners 512 to 476, while 496 counters were unchanged, 895 untraded, and eight suspended. Turnover expanded to 2.58 billion uni
ts valued at RM2.47 billion versus 2.41 billion units valued at RM2.15 billion on Monday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the local market’s favourable performance was also buoyed by sustained buying interest in plantation stocks. “We maintain a cautiously optimistic outlook for the local bourse. While market sentiment has shown signs of improvement, we recognise that investor expectations may fluctuate with shifts in the macroeconomic landscape. Accordingly, we maintain our weekly FBM KLCI target at 1,610-1,630, representing key support and resistance levels,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said the FBM KLCI was positive on the US election day, demonstrating resilience in the face of a major economic event. “The index’s strength reflects earlier profit-taking by investors, particularly around two weeks ago, followed by consistent inflows this week. Market participants appear more neutral about t
he election’s impact on Bursa Malaysia, as both US parties have put forth pro-business policies,” he added.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank added 10.0 sen to RM10.54, CIMB Group gained 8.0 sen to RM8.12, Public Bank perked up 1.0 sen to RM4.43, Tenaga Nasional was flat at RM14.08, and IHH Healthcare fell 2.0 sen to RM7.31. Among the actives, Cape EMS rose 1.5 sen to 36 sen, Sorento Capital gained 3.0 sen to 42.5 sen, Aizo Group added 1.0 sen to 15.5 sen, Ta Win Holdings increased 1.0 sen to 2.5 sen, and OB Holdings edged up half-a-sen to 27 sen.