Bursa Malaysia Closes Higher On Bargain Hunting

By Rosemarie Khoo Mohd Sani

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed higher on Tuesday as bargain hunting continued in most index-linked counters, led by financial services, analysts said. 

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 10.93 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 1,564.56, compared with Monday’s close of 1,553.63.  

The benchmark index, which opened 3.40 points higher at 1,557.03, moved between 1,554.59 and 1,564.97 throughout the day. 

On the broader market, gainers beat losers 544 versus 415, while 456 counters were unchanged, 889 untraded and 14 suspended.

Turnover expanded to 2.23 billion units valued at RM2.05 billion compared with 2.08 billion units valued at RM1.75 billion on Monday.  

UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd head of investment research, Mohd Sedek Jantan said although market sentiment was supported by United States (US) President Donald Trump’s decision to delay the planned tariffs on Mexico and Canada, cautious sentiments remained due to lingering concerns over his trade policies, particularly his previous indication of potential tariffs on the European Union.

“Cautious sentiment was reflected in the subdued trading activity, with total volume staying below three billion shares as market participants adopted a wait-and-see approach while digesting the latest developments from the White House.

“On the technical front, we observe that the FBM KLCI is currently in the oversold territory following the recent sell-off. However, while today's rebound was driven by bargain hunting, broader buying interest has yet to emerge as investors remain cautious about the possibility of further trade tariffs,” he told Bernama. 

Notably, Mohd Sedek said the recent pullback in the construction sector has resulted in a significant discount in share prices, which he believed could present attractive bargain-hunting opportunities.

This is particularly relevant for construction-related counters, supported by the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JSSEZ) initiatives and the ongoing development of data centres in the country.

However, investor interest may remain subdued if the US imposes new trade policies in the coming days, he said.

On the economic front, domestically, the manufacturing Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) remained below the 50-mark, but there was a marginal improvement from 48.6 in December to 48.7 in January, suggesting early signs of stabilisation in the manufacturing sector, he said.

“However, the impact of existing US tariffs on future economic data remains a key risk factor that investors will continue to monitor closely,” added Mohd Sedek. 

Among the heavyweights, CIMB surged 19.0 sen to RM8.19, Public Bank and Maybank gained 8.0 sen each to RM4.40 and RM10.38, respectively, Sunway rose 10.0 sen to RM4.45 and Maxis improved 6.0 sen to RM4.91.

Harvest Miracle Capital remained the most active stock, rising by 1.0 sen to 19.5 sen. Oriental Kopi added 4.5 sen to 90 sen, MYEG gained 1.5 sen to 96 sen, and Nationgate was 8.0 sen better at RM1.85, while Velesto Energy shed 1.0 sen to 18.5 sen. 

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index perked 68.77 points to 11,934.83, the FBMT 100 Index climbed 73.05 points to 11,631.66, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 32.94 points to 11,754.77.

The FBM ACE Index gained 28.92 points to 5,218.09 and the FBM 70 Index garnered 80.24 points to 17,667.86.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index jumped 187.43 points to 19,027.26, the Industrial Products and Services Index recovered 0.77 of-a-point to 164.50 and the Plantation Index increased 27.24 points to 7,373.08, while the Energy Index slid 2.73 points to 813.39. 

The Main Market volume narrowed to 1.08 billion units valued at RM1.79 billion from 1.10 billion units worth RM1.56 billion on Monday.

Warrants turnover rose to 687.14 million units worth RM71.04 million against 609.71 million units valued at RM57.19 million yesterday.

The ACE Market volume expanded to 465.50 million units valued at RM186.55 million versus 364.65 million units worth RM136.73 million previously.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 121.86 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (221.28 million), construction (96.26 million), technology (132.57 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (66.99 million), property (113.89 million), plantation (28.49 million), REITs (12.53 million), closed/fund (11,000), energy (118.07 million), healthcare (56.71 million), telecommunications and media (18.58 million), transportation and logistics (15.38 million), utilities (78.74 million), and business trusts (59,600).

-- BERNAMA