KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI ended higher on Tuesday buoyed by buying interests in banking counters ahead of Bank Negara’s interest rate decision tomorrow.
At 5pm, the benchmark index added 3.29 points, or 0.23% to 1,440.81, with 16 out of the 30 constituent counters ending higher.
Laggards outnumber gainers 423-to-373; about 1.99 billion shares changed hands in deals worth RM1.2bil.
Banking stocks ended higher on anticipation of a possible hike in the overnight policy rate (OPR).
According to a Bloomberg survey, four economists expect a 25 basis points rate hike to 2.25% while one analyst expects the Bank Negara to stay on hold.
The Financial Services Index rose 44.37 points or 0.28% to 16,084.18.
Maybank added one sen to RM8.61, Public Bank rose two sen to RM4.41, CIMB gained two sen to RM5.05, RHB Bank climbed one sen to RM5.72 and Hong Leong Bank jumped 14 sen to RM20.62.
Among the gainers on Bursa Malaysia, Nestle surged RM1.40 to RM134.14, Petronas Dagangan rose 94 sen to RM21.64 and Aeon Credit
added 38 sen to RM14.
Kuala Lumpur Kepong lost 78 sen to RM21.50, BLD Plantation shed 44 sen to RM8.58 and Amlex fell 26 sen to 41 sen.
Instant beverage premix manufacturer Orgabio, which made its debut on the ACE Market today, closed three sen higher to 34 sen. It is the most actively traded counter with 101.98 million shares done.
Elsewhere in the region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.1% to 21,853.07, South Korea’s Kospi closed up 1.8% at 2,341.78 while Japan’s Nikkei 225 ended up 1.03% to 26,423.47.
