BURSA MALAYSIA ENDS AT INTRADAY HIGH, CI UP 17 PTS

KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed at its intraday high today, bolstered by broad-based buying amid improving global sentiment, an analyst said.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) surged 1.08 per cent or 17.36 points to 1,615.32, up from Tuesday's close of 1,597.96.

The benchmark index opened 1.64 points higher at 1,599.60.

On the broader market, gainers outpaced decliners 902 to 326, with 453 counters unchanged, 724 untraded and nine suspended.

Turnover rose to 5.47 billion units worth RM4.0 billion from yesterday’s 5.39 billion units worth RM3.99 billion.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said major regional indices also closed higher, buoyed by positive signals from Wall Street.

He added Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell's comments renewed hopes that the US central bank may begin easing later this year.

Looking ahead, he anticipated continued positive investor sentiment, noting robust daily trading volumes indicative of strong market appetite.

“Nonetheless, we anticipate profit-taking activities. The FBM KLCI is expected to trade within the range of 1,600-1,620 for the remainder of the week, with immediate resistance at 1,620 and support at 1,580,” he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said today's market performance was led by the construction and utilities sectors, both benefiting from rising investment in data centres, AI, and cloud services.

“The optimistic outlook for the construction sector is further supported by a substantial pipeline of domestic infrastructure projects, as well as an upswing in project rollouts from the private sector across residential, commercial and industrial segments,” he said.

Among heavyweights, Maybank and IHH Healthcare each rose by three sen to RM10.02 and RM6.33 respectively. 

Tenaga Nasional added 18 sen to RM14.18, Public Bank gained one sen to RM4.05 and CIMB climbed eight sen to RM6.96.

Among the most active counters, Go Hub surged 60 sen to 95 sen, Aimflex rose 2.5 sen to 20 sen, WCT gained 9.5 sen to 98.5 sen, and UUE increased by one sen to 70.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased by 147.99 points to 12,460.73, the FBMT 100 Index gained 144.26 points to 12,028.58, the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose by 177.44 points to 12,826.61, the FBM 70 Index surged by 274.93 points to 18,349.65 and the FBM ACE Index advanced by 88.34 points to 5,974.36.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index edged up 66.72 points to 17,612.90, the Energy Index increased by 7.95 points to 988.08, the Industrial Products and Services Index rose by 1.97 points to 199.11, and the Plantation Index strengthened by 40.16 points to 7,026.03.

The Main Market volume increased to 2.97 billion units valued at RM3.28 billion from 2.67 billion units valued at RM3.24 billion on Tuesday.

Warrants turnover weakened to 1.10 billion units worth RM156.70 million compared with 1.58 billion units worth RM228.51 million previously.

The ACE Market volume expanded to 1.39 billion shares valued at RM554.84 million against 1.14 billion shares valued at RM516.15 million yesterday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 402.48 million shares traded on the Main Market; industrial products and services (727.97 million); construction (463.0 million); technology (414.30 million); SPAC (nil); financial services (74.58 million); property (325.41 million); plantation (41.28 million); REITs (14.28 million); closed/fund (88,900); energy (176.78 million); healthcare (71.52 million); telecommunications and media (55.10 million); transportation and logistics (63.61 million); utilities (137.08 million); and business trusts (782.90 million).

Bursa Malaysia Bhd and its subsidiaries will be closed on Monday, July 8, in conjunction with Awal Muharam and will resume operations on July 9.

-- BERNAMA