CONSISTENT BUYING LIFTS BURSA MALAYSIA TO END HIGHER, CI UP 0.67 PCT

By Anas Abu Hassan

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 26 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia sustained its bullish momentum to finish on a firm note today, supported by persistent buying interest amid positive sentiment across the board, said an analyst.

At 5 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 10.71 points or 0.67 per cent to 1,613.70 compared with Tuesday's close of 1,602.99.

Bursa Malaysia was closed yesterday in conjunction with Christmas day.

The market bellwether opened marginally higher by 0.59 of-a-point at 1,603.58, and moved in an upward trend from its intraday low of 1,602.79 during the morning session to a high of 1,615.28 in the late afternoon trading.

The broader market was also positive, with gainers thumping decliners 692 to 295, while 499 counters remained unchanged, 936 were untraded and 17 suspended.

Turnover improved to 2.47 billion units valued at RM1.87 billion compared to 2.01 billion units valued at RM1.54 billion on Tuesday.

UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors' head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan attributed today's performance to buying interest in blue-chip stocks during the window dressing period.

"Market sentiment was further supported by Wall Street’s extended gains on Tuesday, with technology stocks leading the advance and bolstering investor optimism.

"However, trading volume remained subdued at 2.4 billion units as many investors continued to observe the Christmas holiday period," he told Bernama.

Among heavyweights, Maybank rose four sen to RM10.12, Public Bank eased one sen to RM4.54, CIMB added seven sen to RM8.04, Tenaga Nasional gained 10 sen to RM14.18, and IHH Healthcare climbed 12 sen to RM7.20.

For active stocks, Zen Tech and Sarawak Cable were both flat at half-a-sen and 14 sen respectively, JCY perked 3.5 sen to 56 sen, SNS Network firmed 10 sen to 67 sen, Vanzo rose 2.5 sen to 20.5 sen, and Globetronics put on 3.0 sen to 60.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index jumped 96.70 points to 12,379.58, the FBM Emas Shariah Index soared 115.83 points to 12,353.49, and the FBMT 100 Index climbed 93.26 points to 12,062.61.

The FBM ACE Index increased 51.80 points to 5,333.36 and the FBM 70 Index surged 192.61 points to 18,567.88.

By sector, the Financial Services Index gained 74.59 points to 18,958.32, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 2.97 points to 173.35, the Energy Index added 7.12 points to 822.18, and the Plantation Index picked up 32.43 points to 7,541.11.

The Main Market volume advanced to 1.41 billion units worth RM1.67 billion from 1.05 billion units worth RM1.36 billion on Tuesday.

Warrants turnover dwindled to 407.26 million units valued at RM29.89 million versus 562.60 million units valued at RM56.40 million previously.

The ACE Market volume expanded to 646.78 million units worth RM160 million against 399.02 million units worth RM128.45 million on Tuesday. 

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 221.16 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (272.58 million), construction (80.85 million), technology (342.71 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (45.96 million), property (165.11 million), plantation (22.97 million), REITs (9.86 million), closed/fund (13,200), energy (82.67 million), healthcare (69.49 million), telecommunications and media (16.44 million), transportation and logistics (31.21 million), utilities (51.71 million), and business trusts (184,300).

-- BERNAMA