KUALA LUMPUR: Bargain-hunting interest pushed the FBM KLCI to an intraday high, bucking the weaker trend seen across regional markets.
The benchmark index rose 9.83 points, or 0.61%, to 1,623.89, its intraday high. The index earlier touched a low of 1,613.05.
There were 497 gainers and 572 decliners, while 573 counters were unchanged. A total of 4.64 billion shares worth RM2.96bil changed hands.
Dealers said the local bourse saw gains today as bargain-hunting emerged following the selloff in the previous session.
However, they added that near-term market sentiment remains cautious, with external uncertainties likely to dictate the FBM KLCI’s direction.
Among the gainers, BLD Plantation
surged RM2.02 to RM12.78, United Plantations rose 96 sen to RM28, Mesiniaga added 25 sen to RM1.30 and Heineken gained 20 sen to RM22.80.
Meanwhile, consumer stocks were among the top losers on Bursa Malaysia, with Dutch Lady falling 70 sen to RM28.60, F&N slipping 40 sen to RM32.60 and Nestle easing 40 sen to RM112.30.
Aquarium operator Aquawalk Group, which debuted on the ACE Market today, closed 22.58% higher at 38 sen, up seven sen, with 340.88 million shares traded.
On the forex market, the ringgit strengthened 0.34% against the US dollar to 4.1490 and inched up 0.4% against the Singapore dollar to 3.1831.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.26%.
Elsewhere in the region, Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.34%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index eased 0.38%, South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.61%, while China’s CSI300 Index rose 0.44%.
