KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 — Bursa Malaysia ended mixed today in tandem with the regional performance, said an analyst.

At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) closed 0.18 per cent or 2.70 points higher at 1,433.74 from Friday’s close of 1,431.04.

The benchmark index opened 1.26 points firmer at 1,432.30 and moved between 1,430.86 and 1,438.33 throughout the day.

The market breadth was negative with decliners outpacing gainers 446 to 385, while 396 counters were unchanged, 1,014 untraded and 11 others suspended.

Turnover rose to 3.05 billion units worth RM1.58 billion, from 2.57 billion units valued at RM1.42 billion last Friday.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said key regional indices also trended higher, with energy and commodity stocks leading the gains.

He noted that investors are expecting to see strong numbers from China’s economic data set for release on Thursday.

Back home, the improving regional sentiment and returning foreign funds have brought some relief to local investors.

While the United States banking industry’s turmoil has caused uncertainties, Thong said the positive outlook in the Asia Pacific region has attracted attention from international investors.

"For the moment, we are cautiously optimistic about the near-term outlook of the local market, barring unforeseen circumstances.

"As such, we anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within the range of 1,425-1,440 for the week, with immediate resistance at 1,440 and support at 1,410,” he told Bernama.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank rose one sen to RM8.76, Petronas Chemicals added 11 sen to RM7.17, CIMB gained three sen to RM5.16 and Tenaga Nasional increased seven sen to RM9.05, while Public Bank was flat at RM4.01.

As for the actives, Vinvest and Fitters were flat at 20 sen and five sen, respectively, MMAG fell half-a-sen to 1.5 sen and Bahvest slipped 4.5 sen to 19 sen, while Salutica was 30 sen higher at 92.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 8.27 points to 10,466.52 and the FBMT 100 Index increased 6.93 points to 10,160.77, while the FBM Emas Shariah Index erased 0.87 points to 10,757.86, the FBM ACE Index dipped 90.79 points to 5,122.21 and the FBM 70 index trimmed 41.52 points to 13,440.01.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.84 points to 170.33, the Energy Index earned 12.08 points to 840.29, and the Financial Services Index strengthened 42.06 points to 15,750.79, while the Plantation Index eased 5.23 points to 6,828.56.

The Main Market volume increased to 1.91 billion units valued at RM1.32 billion, from 1.72 billion units valued at RM1.15 billion on Friday.

Warrant turnover narrowed to 311.30 million units worth RM58.10 million, against 314.75 million units worth RM66.16 million previously.

The ACE Market volume narrowed to 830.09 million shares valued at RM204.74 million versus 534.18 million shares valued at RM203.19 million on Friday.

On the Main Market, consumer products and services counters accounted for 341.54 million shares traded, industrial products and services (509.95 million); construction (115.25 million); technology (258.64 million); SPAC (nil), financial services (44.66 million); property (219.66 million); plantation (25.74 million); REITs (5.65 million), closed/fund (17,300); energy (139.12 million); healthcare (112.85 million); telecommunications and media (72.60 million); transportation and logistics (27.96 million); and utilities (38.34 million). — Bernama