KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia closed higher yesterday, outperforming some regional peers as renewed weakness in global technology stocks and escalating tensions in West Asia prompted investors to rotate into more defensive and domestically oriented markets.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI rose 3.46 points to 1,678.96 from Tuesday’s close of 1,675.50.
The benchmark index opened 0.55 of a point higher at 1,676.05 and traded between 1,673.64 and 1,684.10 throughout the session.
In the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 705 to 422, while 521 counters were unchanged, 1,042 untraded and 14 suspended.
Turnover expanded to 3.97 billion units worth RM2.73bil from 3.76 billion units worth RM2.90 on Tuesday.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said while North Asian equity markets ended lower amid continued pressure on technology and semiconductor counters, the FBM KLCI benefitted from its relatively low exposure to the technology sector and high concentration in financial services stocks.
“The rebound in banking heavyweights provided support to the benchmark index, reinforcing Bursa Malaysia’s defensive characteristics during periods of heightened global risk aversion,” he told Bernama.
“Investor sentiment remained cautious ahead of key United States inflation data later tonight, although the local market continued to attract selective buying interest as investors sought shelter in fundamentally resilient sectors with stable earnings visibility.”
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said investors returned to accumulate selected stocks after the recent correction.
“Across the region, sentiment turned cautious as oil prices surged following renewed military exchanges between the United States and Iran.
“On the domestic front, sentiment remains tense as losers continue to outpace gainers by a wide margin,” he added.
“We remain cautious given the unresolved geopolitical tensions and the potential impact of higher crude oil prices on global inflation and interest rate expectations.”
Thong said investors are likely to remain selective amid persistent foreign selling and the lack of strong market catalysts while market direction in the near term will continue to be influenced by developments in West Asia, movements in crude oil prices and the broader global risk environment.
“For the remainder of the week, we expect the FBM KLCI to remain range-bound with a cautious undertone, trading within the 1,670 to 1,690 range as investors balance attractive valuations against elevated geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties,” he said.
Among the heavyweights on Bursa Malaysia, Malayan Banking Bhd
gained six sen to RM10.68, Public Bank Bhd was up three sen to RM4.80, Tenaga Nasional Bhd added eight sen to RM14.22, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd accumulated three sen to RM7.40 while IHH Healthcare Bhd erased three sen to RM8.67 and Aluminium Holdings Bhd lost six sen to RM8.90.
