KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia maintained its upbeat momentum to close higher today, driven by bargain hunting on improved market sentiment, said an analyst.
At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) improved 10.69 points, or 0.78 per cent, to 1,386.77 from 1,376.08 at Friday’s close.
The key index opened 1.53 points firmer at 1,377.61 this morning and moved between 1,377.61 and 1,390.55 throughout the session.
The market breadth was positive as gainers beat decliners 481 to 371, while 434 counters were unchanged, 958 untraded, and 12 others suspended.
Turnover decreased marginally to 3.01 billion units worth RM1.72 billion versus 3.34 billion units worth RM1.49 billion on Friday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI ended higher as investors took the opportunity to bargain hunt for stocks at lower levels following the heavy sell-down since late May.
"The key regional markets closed broadly higher as market sentiment was positive ahead of this week's United States Federal Open Market Committee meeting (on June 13-14),” he told Bernama.
Japan's Nikkei 225 added 0.52 per cent to 32,434.00, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index put on 0.07 per cent to 19,404.31, and China’s Shenzhen Index rose 0.74 per cent to 10,873.74.
Thong said there is a possibility that the FBM KLCI may visit the 1,400 level this week.
He said, in the meantime, multiple rate cuts from several lenders in China has raised the expectations of no rate hike from the People’s Bank of China.
"As for the local bourse, we are cautiously optimistic given the improving sentiment in the local market, nonetheless, global volatility will also play a major role in the direction of the market.
"Barring unforeseen circumstances, we anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within the 1,385-1,400 range for the week.
"Technically, we see the immediate resistance at 1,390 followed by 1,415, and support at 1,373 followed by 1,350,” he added.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank added one sen to RM8.63, Public Bank rose three sen to RM3.85, Tenaga Nasional garnered eight sen to RM9.26, CIMB went up seven sen to RM6.65, and Petronas Chemicals advanced 25 sen to RM6.65.
Of the actives, XOX and Classita gained half-a-sen each to two sen and 13 sen respectively, Sarawak Consolidated ticked up 2.5 sen to 32.5 sen, while Bumi Armada
fell 5.5 sen to 42 sen, and Widad was flat at 42 sen. - Bernama
