KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI finished higher on Monday, extending gains after the Chinese New Year break, while the ringgit climbed to an eight-year high against the US dollar.
The market bellwether rose 5.15 points, or 0.29%, to 1,757.98, after trading between an intraday high of 1,760.03 and a low of 1,752.48.
Winners and losers were closely balanced, with 584 gainers against 520 decliners, while 537 counters were unchanged. About 2.5 billion shares valued at RM2.65bil changed hands.
On the forex market, the ringgit strengthened 0.37% to 3.8880 against the US dollar, its highest level since February 2018.
The local currency last traded at this level on Feb 4, 2018, bringing its year-to-date gain to about 4.4%.
The ringgit also edged up 0.06% to 3.0735 against the Singapore dollar.
Dealers said the market’s cautious advance reflected selective buying in defensive and dividend-linked counters, while investors remained watchful of external risks, including US tariff developments and geopolitical tensions.
They added that the firmer ringgit also lent support to sentiment, although overall gains were capped by profit-taking in selected industrial and commodity-related stocks.
On Bursa Malaysia, Nestle surged RM2.70 to RM112.41, Malaysian Pacific Industries
jumped 44 sen to RM31.02, United Plantations added 32 sen to RM30.32 and PPB Group gained 30 sen to RM11.16.
Among the losers, Malayan Cement slid 29 sen to RM8.40, Hong Leong Industries fell 20 sen to RM18.90, Press Metal lost 17 sen to RM7.53 and PETRONAS Chemicals declined 16 sen to RM3.29.
Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan index rose 0.85%, with most major bourses closing higher.
South Korea’s Kospi finished at a record 5,846.09, up 0.65%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surged 2.53% to 27,081.91.
Taiwan’s Taiex rose 0.5% to 33,773.26 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index edged up 0.29% to 5,032.07.
Markets in Japan and China were closed for a holiday.
