Bursa Malaysia Ends Firmer On Bargain Hunting Amid Regional Uptrend

By Kisho Kumari Sucedaram

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the trading day higher on Monday amid the regional uptrend, buoyed by bargain hunting in commodities, consumer goods and gaming. 

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) bagged 5.32 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 1,635.29, from Friday’s close of 1,629.97. The benchmark index, which opened 3.61 points better at 1,633.58, moved between 1,628.12 and 1,637.29 throughout the session.

On the broader market, gainers outpaced decliners 548 to 476, with 529 counters unchanged, 865 untraded and 15 suspended. Turnover slid to 2.76 billion units valued at RM2.74 billion from Friday's 3.10 billion units valued at RM2.67 billion.

“Investor sentiment improved following a rally on Wall Street, where a stronger-than-expected US non-farm payrolls report provided a major boost to investor confidence,” Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng told Bernama. 

He said China's stock market resumption tomorrow after the Golden Week holiday also sparked strong buying activity in regional markets. China is expected to outline additional stimulus measures on Tuesday, in addition to a series of robust steps taken in late September. 

“We remain cautiously optimistic that these developments could support a stronger global economic outlook. However, investors should remain cautious given the ongoing market volatility and geopolitical uncertainties, particularly the (escalating war) in the Middle East,” he added. 

Hence, he expects the FBM KLCI index to move sideways, but leaning toward an upward bias, within the 1,630-1,650 range for the week.

Apex Securities Bhd head of research Kenneth Leong sees some stability taking place as Malaysia approaches the tabling of Budget 2025 next week. “Investors will also be keeping a close watch on the release of the US Federal Open Market Committee minutes on Thursday, which will provide guidance on the pace and quantum of future US interest rate cuts,” he said. 

Among heavyweight stocks, Maybank and IHH Healthcare were unchanged at RM10.50 and RM7.22 respectively, while Public Bank gained three sen to RM4.56, CIMB added four sen to RM7.96 and Tenaga Nasional slipped 30 sen to RM13.98. 

Of the active stocks, Key Alliance, OCR Group and Sanichi were unchanged at half-a-sen, 3.5 sen and 1.5 sen, respectively, while Capital A rose four sen to 90.5 sen and Bumi Armada added 1.5 sen to 51.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 47.29 points to 12,256.78, the FBM Emas Shariah Index grew 59.48 points to 12,173.69 and the FBMT 100 Index added 48.89 points to 11,949.46.  The FBM 70 Index advanced 108.62 points to 17,395.02 and the FBM ACE Index widened by 20.31 points to 5,129.83.

Sector-wise, the Plantation Index ticked up 26.44 points to 7,212.22 and the Energy Index was 6.37 points better at 899.05. The Industrial Products and Services Index was higher by 1.59 points to 177.69 and the Financial Services Index edged up 0.10 of a point to 19,190.78.

The Main Market volume rose to 1.67 billion units worth RM2.52 billion from Friday's 1.64 billion units worth RM2.40 billion.

Warrant turnover shrank to 617.25 million units valued at RM100.88 million from 1.12 billion units valued at RM175.19 million last week. 

The ACE Market volume expanded to 467.19 million units worth RM113.88 million from 341.97 million units worth RM90.46 million.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 287.73 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (281.40 million), construction (238.02 million), technology (191.30 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (75.52 million), property (159.51 million), plantation (54.34 million), REITs (11.00 million), closed/fund (24,600), energy (188.82 million), healthcare (68.36 million), telecommunications and media (36.61 million), transportation and logistics (33.12 million), utilities (49.40 million), and business trusts (516,900 million).

-- BERNAMA