By Rosemarie Khoo Mohd Sani
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 6 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed higher on broad-based buying during the late session, with the market bellwether ending at an intraday high, driven by energy stocks, said an analyst.
At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 0.67 per cent, or 10.66 points, to 1,585.17, compared with Wednesday’s close of 1,574.51.
The benchmark index opened 1.92 points firmer at 1,576.43 and hit a low of 1,573.90 in the early session before trending steadily upwards in the afternoon session.
On the broader market, gainers led decliners 485 to 391, while 511 counters were unchanged, 914 untraded and 12 suspended.
Turnover advanced to 2.93 billion units valued at RM2.10 billion versus 2.86 billion units worth RM2.32 billion on Wednesday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the key regional indices were also upbeat, thanks to strong buying in technology and electric vehicle stocks.
The resilience of China’s artificial intelligence (AI) sector has bolstered investor confidence, despite the 10 per cent tariffs imposed on Chinese goods by the US President Donald Trump administration.
Thong said optimism surrounding DeepSeek, a Chinese AI software company, has helped offset anxieties linked to the escalating trade tensions between the US and China.
“While investor sentiment has improved, we maintain a cautious optimism on the local market as its near-term direction is still largely shaped by regional and global volatility.
“Notwithstanding this, we anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within the 1,570-1,590 range towards the weekend,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said investors in the region adopted a risk-on stance after observing that the US-China trade tariffs did not trigger broader market contagion.
“Bargain-hunting activities persisted in data centre-related companies, reflecting sustained investor interest in the sector,” he said.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank rose 8.0 sen to RM10.42, Petronas Gas soared 44 sen to RM17.80, CelcomDigi rose 6.0 sen to RM3.82, Tenaga Nasional jumped 10.0 sen to RM13.72, and Petronas Chemicals gained 7.0 sen to RM4.40.
For most active stocks, Borneo Oil was flat at 1.0 sen, ACE Market debutant Northern Solar put on 16.0 sen to 79.0 sen, MYEG climbed 1.5 sen to 98.5 sen, Ingenieur Gudang added 1.0 sen to 5.5 sen, and Velesto Energy was unchanged at 19.0 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index garnered 67.66 points to 12,091.40, the FBMT 100 Index leapt 69.07 points to 11,784.94, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index soared 70.15 points tp 11,941.19.
The FBM 70 Index increased 64.97 points to 17,900.96 and the FBM ACE Index declined 23.00 points to 5,264.51.
By sector, the Financial Services Index rose 88.01 points to 19,149.74, the Plantation Index put on 37.09 points to 7,468.34, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 1.24 points to 166.45, and the Energy Index climbed 5.94 points to 827.48.
The Main Market volume widened to 1.37 billion units worth RM1.72 billion from 1.33 billion units valued at RM2.01 billion on Wednesday.
Warrants turnover expanded to 996.00 million units valued at RM116.13 million against 924.38 million units worth RM94.71 million yesterday.
The ACE Market volume dropped to 561.91 million units worth RM263.44 million compared with 604.78 million units valued at RM218.53 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 141.93 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (473.69 million), construction (79.41 million), technology (187.80 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (62.34 million), property (115.88 million), plantation (19.13 million), REITs (10.99 million), closed/fund (17,000), energy (152.60 million), healthcare (52.70 million), telecommunications and media (17.48 million), transportation and logistics (16.14 million), utilities (43.09 million), and business trusts (267,800).
-- BERNAMA
