Bursa Malaysia ends firmer on bargain hunting

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended firmer yesterday as bargain-hunting activities emerged following Tuesday’s profit-taking.

The local bourse bucked the regional trend which was mostly lower as investors digested the US Federal Reserve’s decision to maintain its key interest rate on Wednesday, said an analyst.

At 5pm, the FBM KLCI rose 4.33 points or 0.28% to 1,580.30 from Tuesday’s close of 1,575.97. The benchmark index opened one point easier at 1,574.97 and moved between 1,574.27 and 1,582.68 throughout the day.

However, on the broader market, decliners outpaced gainers 620 to 530, while 464 counters were unchanged, 676 untraded and 18 others suspended. Turnover declined to 3.81 billion units worth RM3.06bil from 4.18 billion units worth RM3.75bil on Tuesday.

A dealer said Bursa Malaysia opened easier today before turning mixed at mid-morning as the barometer index moved into the positive territory to end higher, supported by buying in selected heavyweights.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the key regional indices trended lower following mixed cues from Wall Street overnight.

Nonetheless, he noted that Hong Kong’s bourse recorded strong gains as investors celebrated the removal of additional restrictions on the struggling property market.

At the same time, China’s electric vehicle makers rose sharply after clocking strong delivery figures for April, with Nio Inc leading gains as deliveries more than doubled from last year, he shared.

“On the domestic front, our view on the local equity market remained optimistic, underpinned by its compelling valuations and steady foreign inflow. As such, we foresee the benchmark index to move within the 1,580 to 1,590 range towards the weekend,” he told BK.

Regionally, Japan’s Nikkei 225 edged down 0.10% to 38,236.07, South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.31% to 2,683.65, and China’s SSE Composite Index slid by 0.26% to 3,104.82.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 2.50% to 18,207.13 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index improved 0.07% to 3,294.87.

Back home, heavyweights Malayan Banking Bhd added five sen to RM9.78, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd gained three sen to RM6.64 and Tenaga Nasional Bhd rose six sen to RM12.02.

Public Bank Bhd shed two sen to RM4.10 and IHH Healthcare Bhd was flat at RM6.33.

As for the actives, My E.G. Services Bhd slid three sen to 90.5 sen, Top Glove Corp Bhd and Velesto Energy Bhd shed one sen each to 87 sen and 26 sen respectively, while Bina Puri Holdings Bhd was flat at 7.5 sen.