KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 — Bursa Malaysia maintained its uptrend to close higher today, supported by persistent buying in most heavyweights, led by telecommunications and media as well as financial services counters in line with the positive sentiment from regional bourses.

At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) jumped 15.86 points, or 1.14 per cent, to 1,412.09 from 1,396.23 at yesterday’s close.

The barometer index opened 3.30 points better at 1,399.53 this morning and moved between 1,399.39 and 1,414.22 throughout the session.

The broader market was positive as gainers beat losers 650 to 289, while 423 counters were unchanged, 895 untraded and 14 others suspended.

Turnover rose to 4.0 billion units worth RM2.67 billion versus 2.93 billion units worth RM1.78 billion yesterday.

CelcomDigi and Public Bank were the top contributors to the gain in the key index, rising 12 sen and 7.0 sen each to RM4.31 and RM3.99 respectively, with a combined total of 4.57 points.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI showcased yet another impressive performance, buoyed by strong buying support from local institutions and the resurgence of foreign funds.

“Across the region, key indices demonstrated positive momentum, propelled by the encouraging signals from international stock markets.

“Investor sentiment remains positive following the release of the United States’ Producers Price Index (PPI) which came in lower than expected fuelling optimism that the US Federal Reserve may cool down on its rate hike later this month,” he told Bernama today.

Furthermore, he said, Beijing is actively preparing stimulus measures, which are expected to yield favourable results for China’s technology sector.

Among other heavyweights, Maybank and IHH Healthcare gained 7.0 sen each to RM8.80 and RM5.84, CIMB increased 10 sen to RM5.30, Petronas Chemicals improved 8.0 sen to RM6.39 and Tenaga Nasional went up 9.0 sen to RM9.19.

Of the actives, Classita advanced 7.5 sen to 21.5 sen, DNex added 3.0 sen to 50 sen while Widad Group was flat at 42 sen and Jade Marvel slipped 1.0 sen to 21 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 129.89 points firmer at 10,432.12, the FBMT 100 Index surged 125.24 points to 10,114.50, the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 125.40 points better at 10,709.33, the FBM 70 Index chalked up 220.32 points to 13,825.29 and the FBM ACE Index garnered 67.25 points to 5,279.77.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index bolstered 190.06 points to 15,735.22, the Industrial Products and Services Index improved 1.75 points to 162.82, the Energy Index went up 12.02 points to 823.20, while the Plantation Index rose 2.45 points to 6,898.12.

The Main Market volume widened to 3.11 billion units valued at RM2.40 billion from 1.99 billion units valued at RM1.53 billion yesterday.

Warrants turnover narrowed to 306.45 million units worth RM43.92 million against 399.67 million units worth RM62.76 million yesterday.

The ACE Market volume strengthened to 586.62 million shares valued at RM225.18 million from 536.55 million shares valued at RM182.49 million previously.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 1.15 billion shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (638.61 million); construction (73.21 million); technology (378.40 million); SPAC (nil); financial services (113.77 million); property (293.99 million); plantation (35.37 million); REITs (7.61 million), closed/fund (23,400); energy (247.52 million); healthcare (50.83 million); telecommunications and media (28.25 million); transportation and logistics (47.03 million); and utilities (43.95 million). — Bernama