KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 3 — Malaysian equities ended the week mostly positive, reflecting the growing investor confidence after the temporary halt in United States (US) interest rate increases.
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) closed 0.70 per cent, or 10.16 points higher, to 1,449.93 from yesterday’s closing of 1,439.77.
The benchmark index opened 7.86 points firmer at 1,447.63 and moved between 1,444.79 and 1,453.19 throughout the trading session.
The broader market stayed positive with gainers beating decliners 621 to 309, while 440 counters were unchanged, 981 untraded and 22 suspended.
Turnover increased to 3.60 billion units valued at RM2.02 billion from 3.38 billion units worth RM1.93 billion yesterday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said major regional indices rose sharply higher, especially in Hong Kong, with buying interests focused mainly on tech-related, consumer and energy stocks, fuelled by optimism stemming from Wall Street’s performance and the growing consensus that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) had put an end to its interest rate hike cycle.
“As for the local bourse, we remain optimistic and anticipate that the benchmark index will sustain its buying momentum fuelled by a renewed sense of optimism,” he told Bernama.
On Bursa Malaysia, among heavyweight counters, Axiata and Petronas Chemicals rose six sen each to RM2.35 and RM7.19, Sime Darby Plantation gained seven sen to RM4.38, Press Metal Aluminium added five sen to RM4.89, Tenaga Nasional gained seven sen to RM9.97 and MISC added nine sen to RM7.30.
Of the actives, SMTrack and Widad eased half-a-sen each to 4.5 sen and 45 sen, while Zen Tech, MLabs and Fitters were flat at two sen, one sen and four sen respectively,
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index accumulated 66.89 points to 10,698.94, the FBMT 100 Index grew 63.31 points to 10,368.41 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 82.05 points to 10,906.79.
The FBM 70 Index advanced 45.37 points to 14,098.53 and the FBM ACE Index soared 75.01 points to 5,098.99.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index ticked up 1.06 points to 171.71 while the Plantation Index increased 45.35 points to 6,953.25 and the Energy Index was 4.67 points better at 875.48.
The Financial Services Index chalked up 63.37 points to 16,298.88.
The Main Market volume improved marginally to 1.94 billion units worth RM1.71 billion compared with 1.93 billion units valued at RM1.61 billion yesterday.
Warrants turnover expanded to 537.52 million units valued at RM77.88 million against 480.69 million units worth RM77.09 million yesterday.
The ACE Market volume soared to 1.12 billion shares worth RM229.56 million from 964.52 million shares valued at RM240.08 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 330.11 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (548.11 million); construction (146.04 million); technology (175.65 million); SPAC (nil); financial services (66.67 million); property (261.48 million); plantation (26.38 million); REITs (9.08 million), closed/fund (61,900); energy (163.96 million); healthcare (55.26 million); telecommunications and media (32.21 million); transportation and logistics (29.36 million); and utilities (103.16 million). — Bernama
