FBM KLCI RALLIES AS BEST-PERFORMING INDEX, REBOUNDING FROM 5-DAY SELL-OFF

By Siti Noor Afera Abu

KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 (Bernama) -- The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) emerged as the top-performing index in the region today, gaining 1.69 per cent, as it bounced back from a significant five-day sell-off, driven by bargain hunting.

At 5 pm, the FBM KLCI jumped 25.20 points to 1,510.03 from Wednesday’s close of 1,484.83. 

The market bellwether opened 3.96 points higher at 1,488.79, and moved between 1,487.0 and 1,513.97 throughout the day. 

On the broader market, gainers outpaced losers with 651 to 244, while 522 counters were unchanged, 973 untraded, and 13 suspended. 

Turnover rose to 3.25 billion units worth RM2.90 billion from 3.09 billion units worth RM3.37 billion on Wednesday.

UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan noted that the earlier decline had pushed the index into a technical correction, prompting investors to engage in bargain hunting for stocks with strong fundamentals.

However, not all regional indices rebounded from yesterday’s sell-off as most of them continued to slide.

“Among FBM KLCI components, construction and banking stocks led today’s gains. Stocks that were most affected by yesterday’s sell-off rebounded strongly, recovering their previous losses,” he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said considering Asia’s extensive integration into the global supply chains, economic deceleration in western nations may negatively impact demand for Asian goods, consequently affecting the region's economic growth outlook.

On the domestic front, the benchmark index remains in oversold territory despite today's bargain hunting.

“Hence we reckon accumulation to persist. We expect the FBM KLCI to trend within the range of 1,500-1,530 towards the weekend,” he added.

On the local bourse, heavyweights Public Bank rose 15 sen to RM4.48, CIMB was 25 sen firmer at RM7.25, Tenaga Nasional added 40 sen to RM13.40, and Sunway increased 24 sen to RM4.41. Petronas Gas fell 32 sen to RM16.60.

As for the actives, Sapura Energy and Ta Win gained half-a-sen to 4.5 and 3.5 sen respectively, Nationgate climbed 14 sen to RM1.31, Oppstar put on 7.5 sen 54.5 sen, SNS Network ticked up 2.0 sen to 41.5 sen, while Borneo Oil and Velesto were flat at one sen and 15.5 sen respectively. ACE Market debutant Saliran fell six sen to 21 sen after opening at 27.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index jumped 199.33 points to 11,250.55, the FBMT 100 Index increased 194.74 points to 11,031.01, the FBM Emas Shariah Index leapt 171.29 points to 10,905.78, the FBM ACE Index climbed 131.57 points to 4,530.54, and the FBM 70 Index soared 324.80 points to 15,989.13.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index surged 371.41 points to 18,572.19, the Industrial Products and Services Index advanced 3.38 points to 152.33, the Energy Index garnered 21.25 points to 705.57, and the Plantation Index gained 37.61 points to 7,331.65.

The Main Market volume improved to 1.93 billion units worth RM2.65 billion from 1.83 billion units worth RM3.16 billion on Wednesday. 

Warrants turnover tumbled to 803.42 million units worth RM86.46 million against 958 million units worth RM108.03 million previously.

The ACE Market volume swelled to 513.55 million units valued at RM165.07 million versus 304.75 million units valued at RM98.58 million yesterday. 

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 185.26 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (514.94 million), construction (127.07 million), technology (248.97 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (132.24 million), property (161.26 million), plantation (31.19 million), REITs (24.56 million), closed/fund (38,600), energy (318.94 million), healthcare (66.45 million), telecommunications and media (36.53 million), transportation and logistics (28.89 million), utilities (55.89 million), and business trusts (262,600).

-- BERNAMA