KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia closed at its intraday high yesterday, in line with stronger regional market performance, coupled with continued buying interest in the healthcare and financial stocks, an analyst says.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI gained 3.03 points, or 0.19%, to 1,638.09 from last Friday’s close of 1,635.06.
The benchmark index opened 1.08 points higher at 1,636.14, and hit its lowest at 1,629.93 earlier in the trading session.
However, across the broader market, decliners outpaced gainers 729 to 403, while 464 counters were unchanged, 968 untraded, and seven suspended.
Turnover declined to 3.69 billion units worth RM2.61bil, compared with 4.03 billion units valued at RM2.50bil last Friday.
Rakuten Trade vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said regional equities traded broadly stronger, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 reaching new record highs on speculation that newly elected Liberal Democratic Party leader Sanae Takichi will pursue a more accommodative fiscal stance.
“Trading sentiment was quiet overall; mainland China markets stayed closed for Golden Week and Hong Kong is set to be on holiday. Back home, we remain positive on the local market with the return of foreign funds and improved trading volume.
“Attention now turns to the 1,650 resistance level. The brief consolidation period is a sign of strength, indicating that the market is digesting gains before resuming its advance.
“As such, we anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within the range of 1,620-1,650 for the week,” Thong told Bernama.
Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd
added two sen to close at RM10.02, Public Bank Bhd was three sen higher at RM4.37, Tenaga Nasional Bhd rose eight sen to RM13.36, IHH Healthcare Bhd added 22 sen to RM8.35, while CIMB Group Holdings Bhd dropped one sen to RM7.67.
In active trading, KNM Group Bhd eased 2.5 sen to half-a-sen, Borneo Oil Bhd and NexG Bhd were flat at half-a-sen and 52 sen, respectively, while VS Industry Bhd dipped two sen to 55 sen and Tanco Holdings Bhd inched down half-a-sen to 88.5 sen.
Besides IHH Healthcare, other top gainers included PPB Group Bhd, up 30 sen to RM10.52; Nestle (M) Bhd, up 28 sen to RM97.30; Petronas Gas Bhd, up 24 sen to RM18.82; PIE Industrial Bhd, up 23 sen to RM3.49; and Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, up 20 sen to RM20.40.
Top losers were KSL Holdings Bhd and Petronas Dagangan Bhd, down 34 sen each to RM2.99 and RM23.04, respectively.
