Bursa Malaysia Ends At Highest Level In 44 Months, CI Soars 1.53 Pct

By Abdul Hamid A Rahman

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia surged 1.53 per cent today, with the composite index ending at a 44-month high, driven by positive sentiment bolstered by robust local economic data.

At the close, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (KLCI) rose 24.80 points to 1,648.70 from last Friday’s close of 1,623.90. 

The FBM KLCI, which led the gains in regional indices, earlier soared to an intraday high of 1,653.35, reaching a level not seen in three years and eight months, when it closed at 1,652.49 on Dec 18, 2020. 

The index opened 1.24 points higher at 1,625.14 and hit a low of 1,624.58 in the early morning session.

On the broader market, gainers beat losers 606 to 546, with 463 counters unchanged, 880 untraded, and 22 others suspended.

Turnover increased to 3.89 billion units valued at RM4.30 billion from last Friday’s 3.22 billion units worth RM2.75 billion.

UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said Malaysia's second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 5.9 per cent exceeded expectations, signalling a buoyant domestic economy.

"This outperformance has boosted investor confidence and underpinned the broader market rally.

“Furthermore, trade figures for July 2024 have demonstrated impressive strength, surging 18.9 per cent year-on-year to reach RM255.88 billion. This represents the highest trade value since October 2022 and underlines the resilience of the Malaysian economy," he told Bernama.

Encouragingly, he said foreign investor sentiment has shown signs of improvement after a period of volatility.

"While net disposals of RM768.4 million were recorded last week, foreign funds have returned to the market this week with net purchases of RM299.6 million in Malaysian equities.

"The financial sector has been a key beneficiary of the positive economic environment. Given their pivotal role in intermediating funds between savers and borrowers, financial institutions typically thrive in periods of economic expansion," he said.

Mohd Sedek also said it is noteworthy that while the financial sector has led the market today, other sectors, such as healthcare, which have lagged in recent weeks, have also attracted investor interest.

"This broad-based participation underscores the robust nature of the economic expansion," he added.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank rose 34.0 sen to RM10.60, CIMB Group increased 31 sen to RM7.97, Tenaga Nasional added 4.0 sen to RM13.90, and Public Bank rose 25.0 sen to RM4.54, while IHH Healthcare fell 3.0 sen to RM6.27.

Among the actives, Top Glove Corporation rose 4.0 sen to 99 sen, My E.G. Services climbed 1.5 sen to 93 sen, and Velocity Capital edged up half-a-sen to 6.5 sen, while Cape EMS remained unchanged at 42 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 144.70 points to 12,479.83, the FBMT 100 Index increased 152.28 points to 12,128.37, the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 12.43 points to 12,414.47, the FBM 70 Index jumped 113.56 points to 17,957.21, and the FBM ACE Index climbed 2.17 points to 5,401.15.  

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index surged 687.82 points to 19,107.54, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.12 of-a-point to 183.91, while the Energy Index dropped 2.65 points to 949.45 and the Plantation Index declined 29.42 points to 7,154.58.

The Main Market volume expanded to 2.32 billion units worth RM4.01 billion from 1.80 billion units valued at RM2.477 billion last Friday.

Warrants turnover advanced to 1.08 billion units valued at RM124.32 million from 949.16 million units worth RM116.02 million previously.

The ACE Market volume rose to 492.48 million shares worth RM159.98 million from 467.90 million shares valued at RM163.26 million last Friday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 266.32 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (444.78 million), construction (134.89 million), technology (219.64 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (341.15 million), property (331.14 million), plantation (13.81 million), REITs (10.65 million), closed/fund (16,900), energy (137.55 million), healthcare (254.44 million), telecommunications and media (46.58 million), transportation and logistics (74.51 million), utilities (44.75 million), and business trusts (552,600).

-- BERNAMA