KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 31 — Bursa Malaysia closed marginally higher today, despite a mixed regional peers performance, as risk appetite in the broader market improved on bargain hunting activities.
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 2.94 points to 1,442.14 from Monday’s closing of 1,439.20.
The benchmark index, which opened 0.45 of-a-point easier at 1,438.75, moved between 1,437.98 and 1,443.46 throughout the day.
The broader market turned slightly positive with advancers beating decliners 410 to 398, while 486 counters were unchanged, 1,082 untraded and 61 suspended.
Turnover increased to 2.99 billion units worth RM1.85 billion from 2.80 billion units valued at RM1.51 billion yesterday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the local bourse was buoyed by bargain hunting activities, particularly in commodity-related stocks.
He said sentiment is likely to stay cautious, with increasing external volatility and potential selling from foreign funds.
“Nonetheless, it’s worth mentioning that the current valuation of the FBM KLCI remains attractive.
“We anticipate the benchmark index to maintain its sideways pattern with an upside bias for the rest of the week to trend between 1,430 and 1,450,” he told Bernama.
Thong also said the key regional indices were mixed as investors are cautious, awaiting the United States Federal Reserve to announce its next move on interest rates while the Bank of Japan held its policy meeting earlier today.
Additionally, investors’ sentiment took a hit as China’s manufacturing sector unexpectedly contracted in October, while non-manufacturing growth decelerated significantly, he said.
Regionally, Singapore’s Straits Times Index rose 0.11 per cent to 3,067.74, South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.41 per cent to 2,277.99, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 1.69 per cent to 17,112.48, and China’s SSE Composite Index slipped 0.09 per cent to 3,018.77.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.53 per cent to 30,858.85 following its central bank’s decision to keep the short-term interest rate unchanged at -0.1 per cent.
On Bursa Malaysia, heavyweights Maybank and CelcomDigi put on three sen each to RM9.02 and RM4.23 respectively, Public Bank and CIMB added one sen each to RM4.16 and RM5.71 respectively, Petronas Chemicals perked up six sen to RM7.34, while Tenaga and IHH Healthcare gained four sen each to RM9.90 and RM6.00 respectively.
Hong Leong Bank was the biggest gainer among the index-linked counters rising 1.23 per cent, followed by Petronas Gas with 1.06 per cent gain, while Axiata topped the losers list slipping 3.54 per cent.
Of the actives, Classita and Widad were flat at 6.5 sen and 45 sen respectively, Kanger slipped one sen to 12.5 sen, while Salutica surged 17.5 sen to RM1.02 and Impiana Hotels bagged 1.5 sen to 15.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased 39.27 points to 10,638.59, the FBMT 100 Index rose 39.58 points to 10,315.36, the FBM Emas Shariah Index garnered 39.64 points to 10,841.59, the FBM ACE Index gained 11.81 points to 5,017.41, and the FBM 70 Index jumped 134.89 points to 14,037.87.
Sector-wise, the Consumer Products and Services Index was 0.39 of-a-point easier at 550.74, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 0.28 of-a-point to 172.4, the Energy Index improved 4.65 points to 868.29, the Financial Services Index went up 39.34 points to 16,251.54, while the Plantation Index perked up 5.49 points to 6,904.17.
The Main Market volume expanded to 1.82 billion units worth RM1.57 billion compared with 1.72 billion units worth RM1.28 billion on Monday.
Warrants turnover swelled to 409.72 million units valued at RM65.09 million against 352.09 million units valued at RM50.06 million yesterday.
The ACE Market volume widened to 749.32 million shares worth RM215.22 million from 726.30 million shares worth RM185.26 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 529.71 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (419.57 million); construction (91.06 million); technology (152.08 million); SPAC (nil); financial services (56.29 million); property (225.73 million); plantation (22.38 million); REITs (7.77 million), closed/fund (39,800); energy (129.3 million); healthcare (52.41 million); telecommunications and media (34.19 million); transportation and logistics (40.66 million); and utilities (54.96 million). — Bernama