KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI rebounded on Tuesday, lifted by gains in banking counters and tracking the positive momentum across regional markets.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI rose 7.6 points, or 0.45%, to 1,688.12, boosted by gains in banking stocks. It traded within a range of 8.10 points, between an intra-day high of 1,694.16 and a low of 1,686.06.
There were 663 gainers against 455 decliners, while 537 counters were unchanged. Overall turnover was active, with 2.85 billion shares traded for a value of RM2.66bil.
Among the KLCI component stocks, 18 counters closed higher while 12 counters fell.
Dealers said buying interest in banking heavyweights lifted the benchmark, supported by improved regional sentiment and a firmer ringgit.
They added that sentiment was further buoyed by hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough in the Middle East.
Among the gainers on Bursa Malaysia, Malaysian Pacific Industries
jumped 74 sen to RM30.64, F&N rose 62 sen to RM29.80, Ajinomoto added 42 sen to RM12.56 and Pentamaster climbed 37 sen to RM3.47.
In contrast, Allianz-PA slid 76 sen to RM21.22, PETRONAS Dagangan lost 76 sen to RM20.54, Kuala Lumpur Kepong fell 38 sen to RM21.46 and Dutch Lady declined 20 sen to RM31.80.
Meanwhile, foreign investors and retail participants emerged as net buyers on Monday, acquiring equities worth RM12mil and RM49mil, respectively.
Local institutions, however, turned net sellers, offloading RM61mil in equities.
Meanwhile, the ringgit strengthened to 3.9577 against the US dollar, appreciating 0.49%. It also rose 0.26% against the Singapore dollar to 3.1094.
Separately, Brent crude fell 83 cents to US$98.53 a barrel, while US crude declined US$2.21 to US$96.96 per barrel.
Across the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index gained 1.94%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 2.43% to 57,877.39, South Korea’s Kospi advanced 2.74% to 5,967.75, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 0.82% to 25,872.32.
China’s Shanghai Composite index added 0.95% to 4,026.63 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index increased 1.19% to 4,701.28.
