KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia surged 1.53% yesterday, with the composite index ending at a 44-month high, driven by positive sentiment bolstered by robust local economic data.
At the close, the FBM KLCI rose 24.80 points to 1,648.70 from last Friday’s close of 1,623.90.
The FBM KLCI, which led the gains in regional indices, earlier soared to an intraday high of 1,653.35, reaching a level not seen in three years and eight months, when it closed at 1,652.49 on Dec 18, 2020.
The index opened 1.24 points higher at 1,625.14 and hit a low of 1,624.58 in the early morning session.
On the broader market, gainers beat losers 606 to 546, with 463 counters unchanged, 880 untraded, and 22 others suspended.
Turnover increased to 3.89 billion units valued at RM4.30bil from last Friday’s 3.22 billion units worth RM2.75bil.
UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said Malaysia’s second-quarter gross domestic product growth of 5.9% exceeded expectations, signalling a buoyant domestic economy.
“This outperformance has boosted investor confidence and underpinned the broader market rally. Furthermore, trade figures for July 2024 have demonstrated impressive strength, surging 18.9% year-on-year to reach RM255.88bil. This represents the highest trade value since October 2022 and underlines the resilience of the Malaysian economy,” he told Bernama.
Encouragingly, he said foreign investor sentiment has shown signs of improvement after a period of volatility.
“While net disposals of RM768.4mil were recorded last week, foreign funds have returned to the market this week with net purchases of RM299.6mil in Malaysian equities.
“The financial sector has been a key beneficiary of the positive economic environment. Given their pivotal role in intermediating funds between savers and borrowers, financial institutions typically thrive in periods of economic expansion,” he said.
