KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI closed slightly higher on Thursday, supported by gains in heavyweights amid mostly positive regional market performances.
The benchmark index ended 0.74 of a point, or 0.05%, higher at 1,612.29 after trading between an intraday high of 1,617.28 and a low of 1,611.28.
Winners and losers were closely balanced, with 536 gainers against 578 losers and 548 that were flat. About 3.49 billion shares, valued at RM2.85bil, changed hands.
Nestle jumped RM2 to RM104.70, Carlsberg rose 82 sen to RM16.24, Malaysian Pacific Industries
added 76 sen to RM29.60, while Heineken gained 64 sen to RM20.44.
Tomei rose 16 sen to RM1.98, Poh Kong added eight sen to RM1.21, and AuMas gained four sen to 84.5 sen as gold extended its rally to a new record, with spot prices up 0.6% at US$4,233.39 per ounce at 8.10 am GMT.
Among the decliners, PETRONAS Dagangan slid 70 sen to RM22.30, KLCC fell 23 sen to RM8.80, PLB Engineering lost 13.5 sen to 86.5 sen and PIE Industrial declined 13 sen to RM3.13.
On the forex market, the ringgit strengthened 0.13% against the US dollar to 4.2273 and rose 0.09% against the Singapore dollar to 3.2637.
The local currency, however, slipped 0.08% against the euro to 4.9287 and 0.56% against the pound sterling to 5.6808.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.9%, with most regional markets closing higher.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 1.27% and South Korea’s Kospi rose 2.49%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.08%. In China, the CSI300 Index advanced 0.26% and the Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.1%.
