KUALA LUMPUR, April 29 — Bursa Malaysia continued its uptrend to close higher, tracking the upbeat performance of regional peers, amid strong buying support from foreign funds as well as local institutions, said an analyst.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 7.50 points to 1,582.66 from last Friday’s close of 1,575.16.

The benchmark index opened 1.14 points better at 1,576.30 and moved between 1,575.0 and 1,583.34 throughout the day.

On the broader market, gainers beat decliners 561 to 403 while 616 counters were unchanged, 793 untraded and 112 others suspended.

Turnover improved to 4.24 billion units worth RM3.25 billion from 4.11 billion units worth RM3.25 billion last Friday.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the key regional indices finished higher as foreign funds continued to flow into the region amid risk-on mode as investors took positive cues from Wall Street’s performance last Friday.

The rally in the region was spearheaded by Hong Kong and Chinese stocks, propelling the Hang Seng Index towards the technical bull market territory, he noted.

These gains, he opined, indicated a rejuvenation in the market which was previously struggling but is now supported by a resurgence in foreign investments and stronger earnings.

“As for the local bourse, we maintain a positive stance on the resurgence of global funds into the region, accompanied by robust corporate earnings. Nonetheless, we remain cautious about potential profit-taking activities.

“Therefore, we expect the FBM KLCI to fluctuate within the 1,570 to 1,590 range for the week, with immediate resistance seen at 1,600 and support levels at 1,560 and 1,545. Additionally, we anticipate resistance at the psychological threshold of 1,600,” he told Bernama.

Regionally, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.81 per cent to 37,934.76, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.54 per cent to 17,746.91 and South Korea’s Kospi surged 1.17 per cent to 2,687.44, China’s SSE Composite Index garnered 0.79 per cent to 3,113.04, and Singapore’s Straits Times Index improved 0.06 per cent to 3,282.05.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank shed four sen to RM9.75, Public Bank slid three sen to RM4.18, and IHH Healthcare gained 10 sen to RM6.37.

CIMB and Tenaga Nasional were flat at RM6.61 and RM11.92, respectively.

As for the actives, MYEG shaved off half-a-sen to 91.0 sen, Capital A and Top Glove increased 5.5 sen each to 79.0 sen and 88.5 sen, respectively, while TWL Holdings and Bina Puri were flat at three sen and 7.5 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 74.23 points higher at 11,901.02, the FBMT 100 Index increased 73.81 points to 11,535.26, and the FBM 70 Index surged 184.71 points to 16,601.49.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index soared 92.53 points to 12,084.48 and the FBM ACE Index jumped 30.0 points to 5,092.01.

Sector-wise, the Energy Index put on 3.07 points to 980.49, the Plantation Index increased 56.32 points to 7,459.27, and the Industrial Products and Services Index climbed 1.25 points to 188.58 but the Financial Services Index slipped 30.41 points to 17,273.40.

The Main Market volume declined to 2.46 billion units valued at RM3.11 billion versus 2.59 billion units valued at RM2.92 billion last Friday.

Warrants turnover expanded to 1.18 billion units worth RM174.02 million against 1.06 billion units worth RM157.29 million previously.

The ACE Market volume swelled to 596.31 million shares worth RM195.33 million from 452.36 million shares worth RM167.36 million last Friday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 343.46 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (463.49 million), construction (238.73 million), technology (379.31 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (92.64 million), property (363.53 million), plantation (30.03 million), REITs (19.43 million), closed/fund (95,800), energy (140.18 million), healthcare (150.06 million), telecommunications and media (48.06 million), transportation and logistics (40.10 million), utilities (147.70 million), and business trusts (514,600). — Bernama