Bursa Malaysia Ends Higher On Bargain Hunting

By Kisho Kumari Sucedaram

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia managed to maintain its upbeat momentum to end higher today as bargain hunting emerged following the recent sell-off, an analyst said. 

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) notched up 6.03 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 1,640.94 against Wednesday’s close of 1,634.91.

The barometer index, which opened 4.84 points firmer at 1,639.75, moved between 1,638.67 and 1,646.14 throughout the day.

On the broader market, gainers led decliners 568 to 434, with 540 counters unchanged, 899 untraded and 22 suspended.

Turnover fell to 2.63 billion units valued at RM2.30 billion from 3.22 billion units valued at RM2.47 billion yesterday.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said key regional indices were also in upbeat territory following a positive cue from Wall Street overnight.

“The China and Hong Kong markets also rebounded strongly on hopes for stimulus to prop up the world’s second-largest economy. China’s Finance Ministry will hold a briefing on Saturday that could provide details on planned government moves,” he told Bernama.

On Thursday, China’s central bank revealed a 500 billion-yuan funding programme aimed at enhancing capital market liquidity, and applications have opened to financial institutions. 

“We anticipate that this news will positively impact investor sentiment, potentially benefiting the Malaysian stock market,” he said.

Hence, he anticipated the FBM KLCI to trend within the range of 1,640-1,650 towards the weekend.

Meanwhile, Apex Securities Bhd head of research Kenneth Leong said further bargain hunting may take place as the tabling of Budget 2025 next week approaches.

“Investors will be focusing on Malaysia's industrial production and retail sales data tomorrow alongside with the United States producer price index data tomorrow night,” he said.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank and IHH Healthcare added four sen to RM10.54 and RM7.26 respectively, CIMB climbed five sen to RM8.08, Petronas Chemicals edged up one sen to RM5.61, and Hong Leong Bank was unchanged at RM21.10.

Of the active stocks, LEAP Market debutant Autoris Group firmed 40 sen to 50 sen, Pertama Digital advanced 6.5 sen to 31 sen, MYEG gained three sen to 93.5 sen, Bina Puri firmed 1.5 sen to 37 sen, and Top Glove shed two sen to RM1.03.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index jumped 46.73 points to 12,317.24, the FBMT 100 Index picked up 45.77 points to 12,014.60, the FBM 70 Index rose 72.82 points to 17,578.49, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index swelled 43.60 points to 12,210.23, while the FBM ACE Index shed 9.28 points to 5,150.74.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index added 57.58 points to 19,303.27, the Plantation Index rose 27.38 points to 7,199.55 and the Industrial Products and Services Index ticked up 0.54 of-a-point to 175.82, while the Energy Index was 2.18 points lower at 881.88.

The Main Market volume reduced to 1.59 billion units worth RM2.10 billion from Wednesday's 1.69 billion units worth RM2.17 billion

Warrant turnover shrank to 656.26 million units valued at RM98.73 million from 1.06 billion units valued at RM137.28 million yesterday. 

The ACE Market volume slid to 387.86 million units worth RM96.43 million from 461.09 million units worth RM155.36 million.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 389.65 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (213.22 million), construction (167.20 million), technology (180.91 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (56.38 million), property (211.18 million), plantation (24.33 million), REITs (14.32 million), closed/fund (46,600), energy (98.03 million), healthcare (121.86 million), telecommunications and media (23.97 million), transportation and logistics (30.70 million), utilities (57.87 million), and business trusts (1.06 million).

-- BERNAMA