Bursa Malaysia Ends Higher, CI Stays Above Key 1,600 Level

By Rosemarie Khoo

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia's benchmark index continued its uptrend momentum today, breaching the psychological 1,600 level in the process, amid the improving global market sentiment, said an analyst.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased by 0.66 per cent or 10.61 points to 1,606.66 from last Friday’s close of 1,596.05. 

The index opened 2.48 points higher at 1,598.53, its day’s low, and hit a high of 1,609.57 in the early morning session.

On the broader market, gainers led losers 646 to 406, with 522 counters unchanged, 868 untraded, and 22 others suspended.

Turnover dropped to 4.01 billion units valued at RM2.931 billion from Friday’s 4.19 billion units worth RM2.93 billion.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the key regional indices mostly finished on a positive note, with investors focusing on the upcoming United States (US) and China's economic data for updates on global growth. 

He said Wednesday's US consumer price index report would be key for the US Federal Reserve (Fed), as economists expect a 0.2 pr cent increase in both headline and core inflation, with the annual core print seen slowing marginally to 3.2 per cent, while investors in China are expecting more economic stimulus to shore up the economy.

“For the local bourse, we remain prudently optimistic on Malaysian equities pending a breakout from the consolidation mode, around 1,620 level, for the time being until fresh catalysts emerge.

“As such we anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within 1,590-1,620 range for the week,” Thong told Bernama. 

Meanwhile, UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said the market has turned more stable while volatility has decreased.

However, volume was seen to be slightly lower from an average of 4.28 billion shares daily as traders may also be reluctant to make more significant moves ahead of key US inflation data later in the week. 

He said investors would be closely monitoring Malaysia's second quarter 2024 gross domestic product (GDP), as well as key economic indicators in the US this week.

Meanwhile, Bursa Malaysia heavyweights, CelcomDigi and Maxis rose 12 sen each to RM3.77 and RM3.54 respectively, YTL Power was 11 sen better at RM4.46, YTL Corporation added 7.0 sen to RM3.31, Hong Leong Bank perked up 32 sen to RM19.46, and CIMB rose 6.0 sen to RM7.36. 

As for the most active counters, Cape EMS shed 1.5 sen to 50.5 sen, Barakah Offshore Petroleum rose 2.5 sen to 7.5 sen, Velesto eased half-a-sen to 21 sen, while Hubline and MYEG were both flat at 8.5 sen and 91.5 sen respectively. 

Of the top gainers, Dutch Lady Milk Industries was up RM1.40 to RM31.64, Nestle added 50 sen to RM110.00, PIE increased 28 sen to RM5.80, and MPI was 22 sen firmer at RM37.32.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased 80.05 points to 12,255.22, the FBMT 100 Index garnered 77.17 points to 11,884.76, the FBM 70 Index soared 110.75 points to 17,839.74, the FBM ACE Index climbed 69.62 points to 5,447.28, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index jumped 73.85 points to 12,402.35.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index leapt 117.66 points to 18,171.49, the Energy Index put on 4.77 points to 926.41, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.23 of-a-point to 181.52, the Plantation Index improved 39.63 points to 7,113.55, and the Technology Index edged up 0.58 of-a-point to 71.71.

The Main Market volume rose to 2.50 billion units worth RM2.58 billion from 2.42 billion units valued at RM2.53 billion on Friday.

Warrants turnover slid to 924.40 million units valued at RM123.04 million from 1.10 billion units worth RM147.18 million previously.

The ACE Market volume dwindled to 580.17 million shares worth RM208.50 million from 662.41 million shares valued at RM247.55 million on Friday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 382.00 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (549.35 million), construction (221.88 million), technology (242.66 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (89.18 million), property (279.16 million), plantation (19.76 million), REITs (11.46 million), closed/fund (39,800), energy (336.95 million), healthcare (62.01 million), telecommunications and media (46.77 million), transportation and logistics (177.59 million), utilities (90.71 million), and business trusts (198,300).

-- BERNAMA