Bursa Malaysa Ends On A High Note

By Siti Radziah Hamzah

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 13 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended its trading this week on a high note on the back of investors’ anticipation of the United States’ (US) Federal Reserve announcement on interest rate next week.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) jumped 13.84 points, or 0.85 per cent, to 1,652.15 from yesterday’s close of 1,638.31. 

The FBM KLCI had opened 4.32 points better at 1,642.63 and moved between 1,638.44 and 1,652.25 throughout the day.

Gainers led decliners in the broader market 727 to 339, while 459 counters were unchanged, 940 untraded and 26 suspended.

Turnover increased to 2.84 billion units worth RM2.74 billion from Thursday's 2.61 billion units worth RM2.94 billion. 

SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said following a strong overnight performance on Wall Street, the FBM KLCI has also rallied strongly ahead of next week’s highly anticipated Fed announcement. 

"I have been in the 50 basis points (bp) camp for a while now, and I believe low inflation, paired with warning signs from the labour market, justify such a move. For the Fed to truly cement its reputation as a forward-looking institution, acting decisively now with a 50 bp cut could be exactly what’s needed.

"This shift in monetary strategy could set the stage for a more robust global market recovery, and it’s looking like the FBM KLCI, among others, is ready to ride that wave,” he told Bernama.

UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said the recovery in the US market has also supported local technology stocks, which have been oversold.

However, he noted that the ringgit's strength could temper earnings in the coming quarters, potentially capping gains in this sector.

"We maintain a positive outlook on the construction and building materials sectors, with data centre projects expected to begin contributing to the earnings of construction companies.

"Additionally, the stronger ringgit, while potentially limiting gains for export-driven sectors like technology, may benefit domestic sectors such as consumer, financials and selected utilities,” he added.

Among the heavyweight counters, Public Bank advanced five sen to RM4.70, CIMB jumped 23 sen to RM8.16, Tenaga Nasional gained 10 sen to RM14.78, IHH Healthcare soared 13 sen to RM6.78, Maybank and Hong Leong Bank were flat at RM10.64 and RM21.20, respectively, while CelcomDigi fell three sen to RM3.70. 

Of the actives, Velesto edged up half-a-sen to 19.5 sen, Genetec gained four sen to 86 sen, WCT improved by 6.5 sen to RM1.01, Globetronics and OCR were flat at 55 sen and six sen.  

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index surged 110.66 points to 12,302.31, the FBM Emas Shariah Index improved by 126.24 points to 12,115.81, and the FBMT 100 Index garnered 108.91 points to 12,016.30. 

The FBM 70 Index jumped 187.33 points to 17,281.88, while the FBM ACE Index advanced 50.57 points to 5,084.24. 

By sector, the Financial Services Index bagged 39.45 points to 19,551.10, the Energy Index appreciated 15.17 points to 862.81, the Plantation Index strengthened 16.21 points to 7,180.73, and the Industrial Products and Services Index ticked up 2.17 points to 175.15. 

The Main Market volume went up to 1.54 billion units worth RM2.51 billion against 1.41 billion units worth RM2.73 billion on Thursday. 

Warrant turnover went up to 997.96 million units valued at RM125.24 million from 777.39 million units valued at RM87.39 million yesterday. 

The ACE Market volume narrowed to 301.37 million units worth RM103.85 million versus 335.82 million units worth RM109.13 million previously. 

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 163.75 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (234.91 million), construction (184.16 million), technology (250.07 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (129.27 million), property (234.33 million), plantation (14.66 million), REITs (8.21 million), closed/fund (1,000), energy (141.77 million), healthcare (32.69 million), telecommunications and media (24.22 million), transportation and logistics (42.68 million), utilities (77.03 million), and business trusts (579,000).

-- BERNAMA