KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia climbed higher on Wednesday, riding on the coat tails of the firmer key Asian markets as global banking fears ease.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI advanced 5.49 points, or 0.39% to 1,412.04 after moving between its intraday high of 1,413.52 and low of 1,406.51.
The market was optimistic with 497 gainers compared with 377 decliners. Trading volume was 3.12 billion shares valued at RM1.9bil.
Among the gainers on Bursa Malaysia, Malaysian Pacific Industries
jumped RM1.14 to RM29, Harrisons rose 50 sen to RM9.10, Hextar Technologies advanced 36 sen to RM24.60 and Rapid climbed 30 sen to RM17.46.
Carlsberg eased 32 sen to RM20.70, F&N fell 26 sen to RM25.40, Computer Forms lost 18 sen to 43.5 sen and PPB Group slid 14 sen to RM16.52.
Top Glove declined one sen to 95 sen, Harta fell 12 sen to RM1.97 and Careplus eased one sen to 30.5 sen.
SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said blow by blow, the markets have primarily treated the recent events as a surgical strike on a cohort of bank-related stocks and bonds.
“When coupled with the additional fact that implied volatility is nearly unchanged from where it was marked before this storm hit, the pattern suggests the market has compartmentalised, chiefly if cauterized, stresses in the banking sector.
“Still, investors remain on high alert about other risky rate-sensitive assets lurking on banks' balance sheets, specifically regarding commercial office real estate loans, which could be the next domino to fall,” he said.
Elsewhere in the region, Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 1.93%, South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.2%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.31% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed up 1.73%.
