KUALA LUMPUR: After eight straight sessions of losses, the FBM KLCI have finally rebounded following a bloodbath on global markets at the start of the week.
At 5pm, the bellwether closed up 16.45 points, or 1.12% to 1,481.28, with 23 out of the 30 constituent counters closed higher.
Winners and losers were closely balanced, with 482 gainers against 483 losers and 422 that were flat. About 2.72 billion shares, valued at RM2.11l, changed hands.
Dealers said investors began hunting down bargains after the recent stock market bloodbath. However, they expect investors to remain cautious ahead of the US FOMC meeting.
On Bursa Malaysia, Nestle surged RM3.40 to RM135.40, Carlsberg rose 60 sen to RM22.78, Petronas Dagangan gained 54 sen to RM21.06 and Kuala Lumpur Kepong advanced 50 sen to RM24.70.
Among the losers, Batu Kawan shed 56 sen to RM24.64, Malaysian Pacific Industries
fell 48 sen to RM29.84, Quality Concrete dipped 18 sen to RM1.21 and Ajinomoto declined 14 sen to RM12.46.
ACE Market debutant Unitrade Industries Bhd, the most active counter on Bursa Malaysia, declined two sen to 30 sen with 248.86 million shares done.
The building material wholesaler raised a total of RM100mil from the public issue under its IPO, of which RM50.5mil or 50.5% would be deployed as working capital.
Around the region, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.68%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 1.32% lower at 26,629.86 while South Korea’s Kospi ended down 11.54 points, or 0.46%, at 2,492.97.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed flat at 21,067.99 points.
China’s CSI300 index rose 0.8% to 4,222.31, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 1% to 3,288.91 points.
