FBM KLCI Closes At Intraday High After Sluggish Session, CI Up 0.40 Pct

By Abdul Hamid A Rahman

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended in positive territory, with the index closing at its intraday high after a sluggish session, buoyed by late buying interest and strong corporate earnings announcements, said Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) added 6.32 points, or 0.40 per cent, to 1,587.91 from Tuesday’s close of 1,581.59.

The benchmark index opened 0.18 of-a-point higher at 1,581.77 and subsequently slumped to a low of 1,576.75 in early trade.

On the broader market, advancers outpaced decliners 557 to 512, while 505 counters were unchanged, 1,065 untraded and 69 suspended.

Turnover dwindled to 3.09 billion units worth RM2.93 billion from 4.30 billion units worth RM6.46 billion on Tuesday.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said key regional indices ended mixed as investors were cautiously awaiting Nvidia’s earnings announcement later tonight.

“Investors view Nvidia’s results as a critical benchmark for the broader technology landscape, especially amid growing doubts about artificial intelligence’s ability to deliver sustained profitability,” he told Bernama.

Back home, Thong noted that sentiment had improved following strong earnings reports from several companies.

“The benchmark index has reclaimed the 1,585 level with above-average volume, hence, we believe the uptrend momentum remains intact. As such, we anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within the 1,580–1,620 range for the remainder of the week,” he added.

Meanwhile, UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said local sentiment was particularly underpinned by strength in the banking and construction sectors, which continue to demonstrate relative resilience.

“A notable boost also came from a major index component reporting an eightfold increase in its fourth-quarter net profit, which spurred strong trading activity with over 51 million shares changing hands.

“These developments helped offset the more tentative tone observed in selected consumer and technology counters,” he added.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank and Tenaga Nasional added 4.0 sen to RM9.79 and RM13.48, respectively, CIMB Group improved 6.0 sen to RM7.46, and IHH Healthcare expanded 2.0 sen to RM6.79, while Public Bank eased 9.0 sen to RM4.33.

For the most active counters, Sime Darby rose 28 sen to RM1.90, Tanco Holdings was flat at 72 sen, Pharmaniaga inched up half-a-sen to 17.5 sen, NexG climbed 2.5 sen to 50 sen, and Nationgate surged 18 sen to RM1.40.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index jumped 54.97 points to 11,789.24, the FBMT 100 Index expanded 54.62 points to 11,560.84, the FBM Emas Shariah Index leapt 94.58 points to 11,771.86, and the FBM 70 Index gained 116.42 points to 16,569.59, while the FBM ACE Index decreased 4.70 points to 4,746.95.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.92 of-a-point to 164.54, the Energy Index added 0.93 of-a-point to 748.13, and the Plantation Index rose 5.27 points to 7,579.40, while the Financial Services Index dipped 6.93 points to 18,082.56.

The Main Market volume slid to 1.64 billion units valued at RM2.65 billion from 2.56 billion units valued at RM6.11 billion on Tuesday.

Warrants turnover slipped to 1.06 billion units worth RM134.25 million from 1.27 billion units worth RM174.86 million previously.

The ACE Market volume decreased to 381.21 million units worth RM153.22 million from 480.86 million units worth RM171.52 million yesterday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 368.73 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (282.47 million), construction (99.07 million), technology (230.79 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (116.29 million), property (167.66 million), plantation (24.33 million), REITs (22.04 million), closed/fund (10,000), energy (99.39 million), healthcare (135.28 million), telecommunications and media (35.79 million), transportation and logistics (27.70 million), utilities (34.71 million), and business trusts (299,300).

-- BERNAMA

-- BERNAMA