KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia closed mixed today with the key index rising slightly, supported by gains in half of the key index components, particularly glove-related heavyweight stocks, amid a downbeat regional performance.
At 5 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 0.24 per cent, or 3.55 points, to end at 1,449.74 compared to Wednesday's close of 1,446.19.
The market bellwether, which opened 3.88 points weaker at 1,442.31, moved between 1,440.76 and 1,453.27 throughout the day.
However, on the broader market, decliners beat gainers 468 to 344, while 394 counters were unchanged, 1,120 untraded, and 28 others suspended.
Turnover improved to 3.47 billion units valued at RM1.45 billion versus 3.07 billion units worth RM1.72 billion on Wednesday.
Looking ahead, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior analyst Kenneth Leong said investors' attention would be shifted toward Malaysia's third quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data which will be released tomorrow.
"The consensus is pointing towards a growth of 11.7 per cent year-on-year," he told Bernama.
The key index may trade in rangebound mode between 1,420 to 1,465 level going forward, given that sentiment would be cautious ahead of the 15th General Election next week, he said.
"The focus will also be on the upcoming barrage of corporate earnings releases in the final two weeks of the month," he added.
Meanwhile, Bursa Malaysia heavyweights Top Glove added 4.5 sen to 88.5 sen, Hartalega
gained seven sen to RM2.06, and Maybank inched up one sen to RM8.64. IHH Healthcare was unchanged at RM5.97 and Petronas Gas lost two sen at RM16.96.
Among the actives, Advance Synergy improved 1.5 sen to 133 sen while XOX and Fintec Global went up half-a-sen each to 20 sen and 1.5 sen respectively. Key Alliance was flat at one sen and Euro Holdings slid three sen to 10.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained11.56 points to 10,271.01, the FBMT 100 Index rose 14.77 points to 10,008.53 and the FBM ACE earned 51.45 points to 4,983.79. The FBM Emas Shariah Index perked up 0.14 of a point to 10,323.89 while the FBM 70 was 21.21 points weaker at 12,136.03.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index added 65.98 points to 16,326.82, the Healthcare Index grew 26.02 points to 1,704.14, and the Industrial Products and Services Index climbed 0.45 point to 174.77.
The Plantation Index shed 18.18 points to 6,831.38 and the Energy Index slid 11.07 points to 710.56.
The Main Market volume declined to 2.08 billion shares worth RM1.25 billion from 2.24 billion shares worth RM1.52 billion on Wednesday.
Warrant turnover slipped to 279.45 million units valued at RM48.90 million from 294.86 million units valued at RM66.88 million yesterday.
The ACE Market expanded to 1.11 billion shares worth RM144.66 million from 528.83 million shares worth RM126.66 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 755.07 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (526.90 million); construction (65.43 million); technology (109.07 million); SPAC (nil), financial services (42.83 million); property (131.19 million); plantation (16.31 million); REITs (5.41 million), closed/fund (15,000); energy (107.13 million); healthcare (163.47 million); telecommunications and media (35.72 million); transportation and logistics (115.43 million); and utilities (11.26 million). - Bernama
