KUALA LUMPUR: Last minute buying interest pushed the FBM KLCI sharply higher on Thursday as investors’ sentiment improved and also the firmer key Asian markets.
The market bellwether closed 17.14 points, or 1.15% to 1,507.71, its intraday high. This is the second it breaches above the 1,500-level this week.
Market breadth turned positive as gainers overpowered the losers on a ratio of 611-to-276 stocks. Total turnover stood at 2.65 billion units worth RM1.89bil.
Stock market data showed foreign funds and retailers were net buyers at RM74mil and RM5mil respectively on Wednesday. Local institutions were net sellers at RM79mil.
Top gainers on Bursa Malaysia included Nestle, which added 90 sen to RM135.20, Malaysian Pacific Industries
, which rose 78 sen and Chin Hin gained 56 sen to RM5.37.
LPI, United Plantations and Panasonic Manufacturing are among the top losers on Bursa Malaysia.
CSH Alliance, the most actively traded counter on Bursa Malaysia fell 16.67%, or one sen to five sen with 238.13 million shares done.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was quoted at 4.4578, down 0.05% against the US dollar.
Brent crude rose 50 cents to US$97.28 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at last traded at US$91.23 per barrel, up 57 cents.
MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.8%.
China’s CSI300 Index climbed 0.85% to 4,101.54, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.8% to 3,189.04.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 2.06% to 20,174.04.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 also added 0.69% to 27,932.20 and South Korea’s Kospi index advanced 0.47% to 2,473.11.
