Late Buying Lifts Bursa Malaysia To End At Intraday High

By Nurunnasihah Ahmad Rashid

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 18 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia’s main index pared its earlier losses to end at its intraday high on Tuesday, driven by late buying in heavyweights and in line with most regional markets.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased 2.08 points to 1,584.84 from Monday’s close of 1,582.76.

The benchmark index, which opened 2.54 points lower at 1,580.22, subsequently hit a low of 1,575.68 in the early session before late buying lifted it into the green territory.

On the broader market, decliners thumped gainers 643 to 397 while 477 counters were unchanged, 808 untraded and 10 suspended.

Turnover rose to 3.61 billion units worth RM2.64 billion from 3.27 billion units worth RM2.40 billion yesterday.

UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said the FBM KLCI ended little changed as investors remained focused on economic data and policy developments under US President Donald Trump, both of which could influence the forthcoming central bank decisions.

“However, Trump’s proposed reciprocal tariffs are expected to provide some downside support,” he told Bernama.

Regionally, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.25 per cent to 39,270.40, Singapore’s Straits Times Index improved 0.53 per cent to 3,925.56, South Korea’s Kospi jumped 0.63 per cent to 2,626.81, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped 1.59 per cent at 22,976.81, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.93 per cent to 3,324.49.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's vice president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the key regional indices ended in positive territory, as investor confidence in Chinese technology stocks surged following President Xi Jinping’s engagement with business leaders, which was perceived as a boost for the industry.

“On the other hand, global markets remain cautious about the potential inflationary impact of Trump's newly imposed tariffs, though investors increasingly believe the president will avoid escalating into a full-blown trade war.

“As for the local bourse, the benchmark index continues to find support above the 1,580 level. Despite its positive close, we maintain a cautious stance on the local market due to rising volatility and macroeconomic uncertainty,” he told Bernama.

Hence, Thong said the weekly FBM KLCI target is expected to trade within the 1,570-1,600 range.

Among the heavyweight counters, Maybank fell two sen to RM10.54, while CIMB increased 10 sen to RM8.40, Public Bank and IHH Healthcare bagged three sen each to RM4.50 and RM7.28 respectively, and Tenaga Nasional added two sen to RM13.94.

ACE Market debutant TechStore led the active counters, gaining two sen to 22 sen, Ingenieur Gudang inched up half-a-sen to six sen, and Dialog Group put on six sen to RM1.62, while Top Glove decreased 16 sen to RM1.00, and Hartalega tumbled 79 sen to RM2.61.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 40.87 points to 12,004.25, the FBMT 100 Index was 35.62 points lower at 11,716.34, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 77.46 points to 11,696.37.

The FBM 70 Index tumbled 254.48 points to 17,537.19 and the FBM ACE Index dipped 54.46 points to 5,074.49.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index improved 84.60 points to 19,374.08, the Industrial Products and Services Index shed 0.82 of-a-point to 163.10, the Plantation Index lost 2.86 points to 7,430.08, and the Energy Index erased 6.51 points to 791.78.

The Main Market volume expanded to 1.53 billion units worth RM2.30 billion from 1.34 billion units worth RM1.64 billion on Monday.

Warrants turnover advanced to 1.29 billion units worth RM124.48 million against 1.01 billion units worth RM91.84 million previously.

The ACE Market volume increased to 783.65 million units valued at RM218.96 million versus 623.75 million units valued at RM218.33 yesterday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 202.06 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (297.94 million), construction (85.07 million), technology (152.56 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (62.86 million), property (120.64 million), plantation (23.29 million), REITs (9.88 million), closed/fund (35,500), energy (154.13 million), healthcare (327.43 million), telecommunications and media (30.91 million), transportation and logistics (30.97 million), utilities (35.31 million), and business trusts (93,500).

-- BERNAMA