KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 — Bursa Malaysia ended the week on a firm note, with buying support seen across the board, in tandem with regional peers, dealers said.

At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 6.50 points, or 0.41 per cent, higher at 1,607.29 compared with yesterday’s close of 1,600.79.

The barometer index opened 2.94 points better at 1,603.73 and moved between 1,599.20 and 1,608.11 throughout the day.

On the broader market, gainers surpassed decliners 535 to 396, while 436 counters were unchanged, 869 untraded and 16 others suspended.

Total turnover decreased to 2.93 billion units worth RM1.85 billion from 3.34 billion units worth RM2.54 billion yesterday.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI continued its upward trajectory due to buying support in selected heavyweight counters, mainly banking, glove and telco stocks.

“The FBM KLCI trended in a tight consolidation mode throughout the week, however, it has managed to close above the 1,600 level for two trading days.

“We are cautiously optimistic given the improvement in the local market sentiment and foreign support but investors should stay alert due to the increasing market volatility and external uncertainties.

“As such, we expect the FBM KLCI to trend slightly higher, hovering within the 1,600 to 1,620 range for next week. From the technical point of view, immediate resistance is seen at 1,625 and support at 1,580,” he told Bernama.

Asian key regional markets also ended in positive territory following the overnight positive performance on Wall Street, despite a choppy morning session due to lingering concerns over the war in Ukraine, Covid-19 lockdowns in China, and the US Federal Reserve’s aggressive policy tightening plan, he added.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.29 per cent to 21,872.01, Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.36 per cent to 26,985.80, and South Korea’s Kospi climbed up 0.17 per cent to 2,700.39 but Singapore’s Straits Times Index shed 0.53 per cent to 3,386.11

Back home, market heavyweights Maybank gained two sen to RM8.85, Petronas Chemicals rose 12 sen to RM10.30, IHH Healthcare added four sen to RM6.45, while Public Bank and CIMB Group were flat at RM4.68 and RM5.35, respectively.

Of the actives, Brahim’s tumbled eight sen to 3.5 sen, YTL rose 10 sen to 77.5 sen, TWL added one sen to nine sen while Widad Group and Techna-X were flat at 36.5 sen and 9.5 sen, respectively.

On the index board, FBMT 100 Index increased 47.49 points to 11,200.62, FBM Emas Index was 51.73 points higher at 11,551.59, FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 68.04 points to 12,202.59, FBM 70 advanced 68.48 points to 14,003.85 and FBM ACE expanded 33.16 points to 5,861.48.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 2.91 points to 214.47 and the Plantation Index gained 16.84 points to 8,353.60, while the Financial Services Index climbed up 12.89 points to 16,782.33.

The Main Market volume fell to 2.02 billion shares worth RM1.67 billion compared with 2.33 billion shares worth RM2.32 billion yesterday.

Warrants turnover dwindled to 279.43 million units valued at RM48.29 million against 429.53 million units valued at RM74.16 million yesterday.

The ACE Market volume increased to 624.68 million shares worth RM141.21 million versus 578.69 million shares worth RM146.16 million previously.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 519.52 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (379.84 million), construction (155.29 million), technology (137.62 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (57.88 million), property (316.41 million), plantation (38.03 million), REITs (7.31 million), closed/fund (2,000), energy (121.67 million), healthcare (39.36 million), telecommunications and media (27.16 million), transportation and logistics (56.81 million), and utilities (162.45 million). — Bernama