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KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia rebounded and ended sharply higher today, in tandem with the recovery across regional markets and on Wall Street overnight as worries over a global banking crisis receded, said an analyst.
At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) jumped 20.13 points, or 1.45%, to 1,411.73 from yesterday’s close of 1,391.60.
The market bellwether opened 5.68 points better at 1,397.28 and moved between 1,397.23 and 1,416.92 throughout the day.
Market breadth was positive with gainers thumping decliners 711 to 244 while 349 counters were unchanged, 961 untraded and 27 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 4.43 billion units worth RM4.09 billion.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior analyst Kenneth Leong said the FBM KLCI staged a strong rally today, taking the cue from a rebound on Wall Street after US major banks pledged to inject US$30 billion (RM134.5 billion) in liquidity to rescue First Republic Bank.
“Meanwhile, RAM Ratings reassured that Malaysian banks’ ratings remain intact given that the domestic banking system's exposure to bond securities is relatively low at less than 25% compared to Silicon Valley Bank at more than 50% exposure to bond securities,” he said.
Echoing Leong, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said reports of major US banks collaborating to rescue First Republic Bank has boosted confidence in the US banking system.
Among the heavyweight stocks, Maybank added 12 sen to RM8.38, Public Bank advanced four sen to RM3.97 and Petronas Chemicals surged 24 sen to RM7.23.
CIMB climbed seven sen to RM5.22 and TNB improved 20 sen to RM9.55.
Among the actives, Top Glove Corporation rallied eight sen to 91.5 sen, Capital A jumped 5.5 sen to 83 sen, and Zen Tech International grew by one sen to three sen.
Minda Global garnered three sen to 14.5 sen and SMRT Holdings shaved 5.5 sen to 51 sen. – Bernama, March 17, 2023