Renewed Buying Interest Lifts Bursa Malaysia To End Higher In Thin Trading

By Anas Abu Hassan

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 31 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia staged a rebound from early losses to end the holiday-shortened trading week on a positive note, albeit in thin trading, supported by renewed buying interest, said an analyst.

At 5 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 4.23 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 1,556.92 compared to Tuesday’s close of 1,552.69.  

The benchmark index opened 1.09 points higher at 1,553.78 and moved to a low of 1,545.84 during the morning session before hitting a high of 1,563.03 in the afternoon session.

Market breadth was positive, with 508 gainers outpacing 319 decliners while 446 counters were unchanged, 1,048 untraded, and 37 suspended.

Turnover dwindled to 1.47 billion units valued at RM1.92 billion compared to 2.19 billion units valued at RM2.01 billion registered on Tuesday.  

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI managed to close marginally higher despite muted trading activities following the Chinese New Year (CNY) holidays.

Regionally, he noted that key markets also posted gains across the board bolstered by improved sentiment, despite United States President Donald Trump’s threat to impose steep tariffs on the BRICS bloc over de-dollarisation.

"Overall, trading across the region stayed muted as some countries remained closed during the festive season," he told Bernama.

 Markets in Hong Kong and China remain closed for the CNY celebration.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank rose 10 sen to RM10.34, CIMB gained eight sen to RM8.02, IHH Healthcare added one sen to RM7.16, Tenaga Nasional was flat at RM13.60, while Public Bank fell six sen to RM4.31.

For the actives, YTL Corp and Gamuda were up one sen to RM1.91 and RM4.04 respectively, YTL Power gained two sen to RM3.13, Velesto Energy put on half-a-sen to 19 sen, while Nationgate was unchanged at RM1.79.

On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index advanced 40.85 points to 11,883.71, the FBMT 100 Index ticked up 34.71 points to 11,575.90, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 42.64 points to 11,737.14.

The FBM ACE Index bagged 49.37 points to 5,195.07 and the FBM 70 Index garnered 65.01 points to 17,587.02.

By sector, the Financial Services Index expanded 62.25 points to 18,854.36, the Industrial Products and Services Index rose 0.36 of-a-point to 165.37, and the Energy Index gained 0.84 of-a-point to 823.32.

However, the Plantation Index slipped 48.91 points to 7,345.60.

The Main Market volume trimmed to 926.01 million units worth RM1.79 billion from 1.10 billion units worth RM1.80 billion on Tuesday.

Warrants turnover dwindled to 273.90 million units valued at RM19.19 million against 772.76 million units valued at RM69.38 million previously.

The ACE Market volume decreased to 270.62 million units worth RM112.24 million versus 302.93 million units worth RM139.83 million on Tuesday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 139.76 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (127.90 million), construction (96.74 million), technology (92.14 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (61.50 million), property (124.81 million), plantation (13.37 million), REITs (7.08 million), closed/fund (24,100), energy (100.0 million), healthcare (28.47 million), telecommunications and media (16.66 million), transportation and logistics (13.16 million), utilities (104.29 million), and business trusts (54,800).

-- BERNAMA