KUALA LUMPUR: Shares on Bursa Malaysia ended the day on the positive side as the Turkish currency crisis seemed to ease and recovered from record lows.
The benchmark FBM KLC1 rose 2.16 points, or 0.12% to 1,785.94. The local bourse opened 0.80 of-a-point firmer at 1,784.58 this morning. The market traded within a range of 5.47 points between an intra-day high of 1,789.05 and a low of 1,783.58 during the session.
In the broader market, there were 434 gainers, 461 losers and 439 counters traded unchanged on the Bursa Malaysia. Turnover was at 1.024 billion shares valued at RM913.35mil.
Dealers said the overall sentiment remained cautious although investors’ anxieties over contagion from a Turkish currency crisis faded. They added that investors are awaiting for the upcoming GDP growth data on Friday.
As of 5.17pm, the ringgit was quoted at 4.1027, its lowest in eight-month as the dollar strengthens. The ringgit, however, was traded higher against Singapore dollar at 2.9734, British pound at 5.2148 and euro at 4.6458.
Top gainers on Bursa Malaysia included Petronas Dagangan, which added 48 sen to RM26.70, British American Tobacco
rose 24 sen to RM36, Elsoft Research gained 23 sen to RM2.96 while Malaysian Pacific Industries added 22 sen to RM11.34.
The decliners included Nestle, United Plantations, Hong Leong Industries, KESM and RHB Bank.
Among the heavyweights, Tenaga Nasional gained 16 sen to RM15.82, IHH Healthcare advanced five sen to RM5.46, Petronas Chemicals rose 20 sen to RM9.30 and Public Bank climbed eight sen to RM24.48.
Elsewhere in the region, stocks in Hong Kong fell on Wednesday, ending near one-year lows. At close of trade, the Hang Seng index was down 429.34 points, or 1.55%, at 27,323.59. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index fell 1.95% to 10,535.14.
The Nikkei share average ended 0.68% lower to 22,204.22 while South Korean Kospi closed up 10.46 points or 0.47% at 2,258.91.
China’s CSI300 index fell 2.4% to 3,291.98 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index closed down 2.1% at 2,723.26 points.
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