By Rosemarie Khoo Mohd Sani
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 7 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended higher for the fourth consecutive session on Friday, with buying mainly in technology and construction stocks, ahead of the release of US jobs report later today, said an analyst.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the benchmark FBM KLCI closed in the positive territory as investors continued to bargain hunt for blue chip stocks after the recent sell-off.
At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 0.36 per cent, or 5.74 points, to 1,590.91, compared with Thursday’s close of 1,585.17.
The benchmark index, which opened 1.55 points lower at 1,583.62, moved between 1,582.92 and 1,591.49 throughout the trading session.
On the broader market, gainers outpaced decliners 642 to 369, with 478 counters unchanged, 828 untraded and 22 suspended.
Turnover was unchanged at 2.93 billion units but its value rose to RM2.22 billion compared with 2.93 billion units worth RM2.10 billion on Thursday.
Thong meanwhile said the key regional markets posted mixed performances following mixed cues from Wall Street overnight.
China and Hong Kong led the gains in the region driven by renewed interest in technology firms following DeepSeek’s artificial intelligence (AI) model launch.
“As for the local bourse, the FBM KLCI is testing its 1,590 resistance level. If the benchmark index can hold above this level for longer, it could form a solid base for further gains,” Thong told Bernama.
Meanwhile, UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said investor focus would turn to the release of the US January Non-Farm Payrolls report, which is expected to show employment growth of 170,000, an upward revision from earlier estimates.
The unemployment rate is projected to remain steady at 4.1 per cent, while average hourly earnings are anticipated to rise by 0.3 per cent on a monthly basis.
“Still, the labour market data may be temporarily distorted by recent disruptions, including the Los Angeles wildfires and the unprecedented snowstorm that affected several southern states last month.
“As observed during last summer’s hurricanes, such events can impact reported job creation, partly due to disruptions in data collection processes,” said Mohd Sedek.
Among the heavyweights, CIMB jumped 17 sen to RM8.39, YTL Power surged 21 sen to RM3.44 sen, YTL Corporation climbed 5.0 sen to RM2.02, Gamuda increased 14 sen to RM4.56, and Telekom Malaysia increased 11 sen to RM6.75.
Of the most active stocks, Key Alliance remained flat at half-a-sen, MyEG Services gained 3.5 sen to RM1.02, while TWL, Velesto Energy and Supermax were unchanged at 2.5 sen, 19 sen and RM1.20 respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 58.13 points to 12,149.53, the FBMT 100 Index climbed 55.11 points to 11,840.06, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index garnered 44.44 points to 11,985.64.
The FBM ACE Index dipped 4.16 points to 5,260.35 but the FBM 70 Index jumped 132.56 points to 18,033.53.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index increased 83.69 points to 19,233.44, the Industrial Products and Services Index perked up 0.06 of-a-point to 166.51, while the Plantation Index fell 14.44 points to 7,453.90 and the Energy Index shed 1.04 points to 826.44.
The Main Market volume remained unchanged at 1.37 billion units but its value improved to RM1.94 billion from RM1.72 billion on Thursday.
Warrants turnover swelled to 1.03 billion units worth RM113.20 million against 996.00 million units valued at RM116.13 million yesterday.
The ACE Market volume narrowed to 527.66 million units valued at RM163.86 million versus 561.91 million units worth RM263.44 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 167.43 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (244.52 million), construction (96.25 million), technology (239.53 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (60.06 million), property (198.42 million), plantation (194.47 million), REITs (85.41 million), closed/fund (5,500), energy (141.97 million), healthcare (91.00 million), telecommunications and media (18.34 million), transportation and logistics (13.51 million), utilities (82.21 million), and business trusts (31,600).
-- BERNAMA
