Bursa Malaysia Closes Broadly Higher, Led By Tech, Property And Construction Stocks

By Siti Radziah Hamzah

KUALA LUMPUR, April 10 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed broadly higher, with buying momentum seen mainly in technology, property and construction stocks.   

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 5.07 points, or 0.30 per cent, to 1,691.31 from Thursday’s close of 1,686.24.

The benchmark index, which opened 5.23 points higher at 1,691.47, moved between 1,685.66 and 1,692.97 during the day.  

In the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 663 to 400, while 562 counters were unchanged, 1,083 untraded and 13 suspended.

Turnover eased to 2.89 billion units worth RM2.60 billion from Thursday’s 3.05 billion units worth RM2.83 billion.      

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said key regional indices also ended mostly higher, taking cues from Wall Street and supported by cautious optimism ahead of ceasefire talks between Iran and the United States this weekend.

He noted that Israel signalled it may seek a ceasefire with Lebanon, while Iran has insisted that Lebanon be included in any broader agreement involving the US and Israel.

“As for the local bourse, we remain cautious given the ongoing geopolitical uncertainties, as developments in West Asia remain fluid and subject to sudden changes,” Thong told Bernama.

Regionally, Singapore’s Straits Times Index improved by 0.14 per cent to 4,984.10, Japan’s Nikkei 225 expanded by 1.84 per cent to 56,924.11, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index went up 0.55 per cent to 25,893.54. 

Among Bursa Malaysia’s heavyweights, Public Bank advanced five sen to RM4.65, Press Metal increased four sen to RM7.90, Maybank and Petronas Chemicals were flat at RM11.16 and RM5.82, respectively, while TNB fell four sen to RM14.08. 

On the most active list, Top Glove went down 1.5 sen to 80.5 sen, Zetrix AI added half-a-sen to 75.5 sen, Borneo Oil was flat at half-a-sen, and Sunway Healthcare eased two sen to RM1.90. 

Among the top gainers, Fraser & Neave appreciated 72 sen to RM29.80, Malaysian Pacific Industries up by 46 sen to RM29.80, Sunway Construction climbed 32 sen to RM6.85, and UWC put on 24 sen to RM4.38. 

As for the top losers, Nestle decreased RM1.10 to RM99, Petronas Dagangan slid 60 sen to RM20.80, Kuala Lumpur Kepong shrank 26 sen to RM21.94, and QL Resources dwindled 12 sen to RM3.86. 

On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index garnered 49.10 points to 12,259.66, the FBM Emas Index bagged 53.78 points to 12,412.66, the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 31.19 points to 12,289.33, the FBM ACE Index put on 55.14 points to 4,429.98, and the FBM Mid 70 Index jumped 122.62 points to 17,320.97.  

By sector, the Financial Services Index surged 107.39 points to 19,784.66, the Plantation Index trimmed 22.85 points to 8,967.25, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 1.43 points to 185.91, and the Energy Index down by 0.49 of-a-point to 813.25.    

The Main Market volume retreated to 1.74 billion units valued at RM2.36 billion from Thursday’s 1.92 billion units valued at RM2.63 billion.    

Warrants turnover shrank to 847.80 million units worth RM126.93 million from 951.29 million units worth RM110.58 million yesterday.  

ACE Market volume increased to 298.38 million units, valued at RM110.80 million, compared to 272.38 million units valued at RM93.33 million on Thursday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 132.57 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (580.53 million), construction (140.39 million), technology (184.59 million), financial services (70.76 million), property (153.02 million), plantation (34.51 million), real estate investment trusts (12.58 million), closed-end fund (40,500), energy (142.28 million), healthcare (203.14 million), telecommunications and media (23.13 million), transportation and logistics (47.75 million), utilities (47.75 million), and business trusts (82,600).

-- BERNAMA