Bursa Malaysia Stages Comeback On Bargain Hunting, CI Up 2.46 Pct

By Kisho Kumari Sucedaram

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 6 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia staged a swift comeback to close higher on Tuesday, driven by bargain hunting, amid a recovery in most regional peers after facing a global stock-market rout in the previous session, said a dealer.

Japan's Nikkei 225 rebounded 3,217.04 points or 10.23 per cent to 34,675.46 compared to yesterday's massive losses of over 4,000 points, the worst since 1987. The Shanghai SSE Composite Index was up by 0.23 per cent to 2,867.28 and Indonesia’s IDX Composite increased by 1.31 per cent to 7,151.80.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) soared 37.91 points or 2.46 per cent to its intraday high of 1,574.39 compared with Monday's close of 1,536.48.

The market bellwether opened 5.66 points higher at 1,542.14 and thereafter slipped to its day’s low of 1,529.09 before moving in an upward trajectory for the rest of the day. 

On the broader market, gainers thumped decliners 1,083 to 309, with 348 counters unchanged, 665 untraded, and seven others suspended.

Turnover decreased to 6.39 billion units worth RM5.31 billion from Monday’s 9.26 billion units worth RM7.97 billion.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said European stocks also recouped some losses in early trading although they did not see a dramatic rebound.

"Signs of recovery were also evident in the US futures markets, with positive trends in Nasdaq, S&P 500, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures,” he told Bernama.

As for the local bourse, he reckoned that bargain hunting may continue as the benchmark index remains in an oversold position, while at the same time, the fundamentals of the Malaysian economy remain solid with improving corporate earnings and continuous inflows of foreign direct investments.

"In the short term, the FBM KLCI is showing signs of recovery after a significant sell-off,” he noted.

Thong also advised investors to watch out for key support and resistance levels and monitor technical indicators to better grasp the trend direction.

"For the FBM KLCI, the support is spotted at 1,550, followed by 1,530, and resistance at 1,600, followed by 1,620," he said.

Meanwhile, Apex Securities Bhd head of research Kenneth Leong said the market may attempt to build onto today's recovery on the back of extended bargain hunting.

"Amid calmer market conditions, investors may reposition to cautiously nibble on beaten-down stocks. However, further recovery is expected to be measured in the absence of fresh leads," he said. 

Among Bursa Malaysia heavyweights, Maybank went up 20 sen to RM10.10, Public Bank rose seven sen to RM4.20, Tenaga Nasional gained 48 sen to RM13.64, CIMB increased 19 sen to RM7.20, and IHH Healthcare climbed 14 sen to RM6.21.

Of the actives, Cape EMS lost 16 sen to 40.5 sen, Jiankun slid three sen to eight sen, while MY E.G added six sen to 88.5 sen, Velesto Energy improved one sen to 20.5 sen, and WCT put on three sen to RM1.01.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index garnered 325.38 points to 11,931.28, the FBMT 100 Index expanded 324.62 points to 11,596.98, the FBM Emas Shariah Index widened 379.35 points at 12,048.22, the FBM ACE Index added 105.78 points to 5,060.86, and the FBM 70 Index surged 650.26 points to 17,227.15.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index soared 347.31 points to 17,894.06, the Energy Index edged up 31.10 points to 883.81, the Plantation Index was 186.80 points higher at 7,075.44, the Technology Index was 2.53 points better at 67.34, and the Industrial Products and Services Index ticked up 4.73 points to 175.86.

The Main Market volume dwindled to 4.07 billion units valued at RM4.87 billion from 6.16 billion units valued at RM7.38 billion on Monday.

Warrants turnover declined to 1.54 billion units worth RM196.54 million from 1.59 billion units worth RM150.87 million previously.

The ACE Market volume tumbled to 773.02 million shares valued at RM246.59 million from 1.49 billion shares valued at RM436.90 million yesterday.  

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 496.34 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (929.41 million), construction (479.67 million), technology (496.83 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (149.59 million), property (707.40 million), plantation (35.29 million), REITs (39.67 million), closed/fund (26,900), energy (283.20 million), healthcare (169.40 million), telecommunications and media (82.90 million), transportation and logistics (79.88 million), utilities (125.63 million), and business trusts (674,100).

-- BERNAMA