BURSA MALAYSIA CLOSES HIGHER ON STRONG BUYING OF BLUE CHIPS

By Karina Imran

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 9 -- Bursa Malaysia ended higher on Monday, supported by continued interest in blue-chip counters,  in line with the upbeat performance across regional markets, said an analyst. 

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) bounced 18.47 points, or 1.07 per cent, to 1,751.30 from Friday’s close of 1,732.83.

The barometer index opened 11.91 points higher at 1,744.74, and moved between an intraday low of 1,736.32 in early trade and a high of 1,752.13 during the mid-afternoon session. 

The market breadth was positive, with gainers leading decliners 798 to 355. Another 515 counters were unchanged, 995 remained untraded, and 18 were suspended.

Turnover totalled 3.12 billion units valued at RM2.90 billion.

IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said banking stocks drove the local bourse today, supported by Malaysia’s “solid-looking” economic fundamentals. 

"Risk appetite also firmed across the broader market, with the FBM Small Cap index advancing 0.8 per cent, signalling improved participation beyond index heavyweights.  Technology outperformed, mirroring overnight strength on Wall Street where improved risk sentiment and resilient earnings expectations continued to support growth and tech-heavy segments, providing a positive regional sentiment spillover," he told Bernama. 

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng noted that regional markets also finished higher as bargain-hunting activity emerged after a volatile performance last week.  Asian markets found support from gains in the US chipmakers and artificial intelligence-related stocks last Friday, he said.

"Attention is now shifting to key US economic releases later this week, particularly delayed jobs and inflation data, which could provide fresh insights into interest rate prospects and the broader growth outlook," he added. 

Back home, he said a firm move above 1,750 would likely accelerate the ongoing uptrend, paving the way for further gains.   "Any interim pullbacks should remain orderly and provide accumulation opportunities. As such, we anticipate the FBM KLCI to move within the 1,730-1,760 range for the week," Thong forecast.

Among heavyweight stocks, Maybank gained 12 sen to RM12.06, Public Bank added 11 sen to RM5.08, and CIMB firmed nine sen to RM8.55. Tenaga Nasional climbed 20 sen to RM14.14, and IHH Healthcare grew 14 sen to RM8.94. 

On the most active list,  Zetrix AI increased 12 sen to 80.5 sen, MMAG Holdings fell half-a-sen to 4.5 sen, Tanco gained three sen to RM1.36, Ambest Group dropped 1.5 sen to 33 sen, and Pharmaniaga inched up half-a-sen to 30 sen. 

Top gainers included Allianz Malaysia, which jumped 86 sen to RM23.06, while  United Plantations grew 82 sen to RM29.82 and Hong Leong Industries surged 66 sen to RM17.50. Petronas Gas added 30 sen to RM18.50, and Malayan Cement rallied 26 sen to RM8.50.

Leading decliners were Nestle (M), which went down 70 sen to RM111.60, while Axiata Group lost 20 sen to RM2.19, and Hong Leong Financial Group went down 16 sen to RM22.40. Harrison Holdings dropped 10 sen to RM1.20. 

On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index bounced 145.23 points to 12,616.22, the FBM Emas Index gained 144.86 points to 12,784.55, and the FBM Mid 70 Index surged 256.26 points to 17,490.38. The FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 129.23 points to 12,234.72, and the FBM ACE Index advanced 98.53 points to 4,729.32.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index jumped 248.01 points to 21,724.95, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 2.54 points to 176.01, the Plantation Index grew 34.89 points to 8,358.52, and the Energy Index inched up 0.60 of-a-point to 739.61.

The Main Market volume dipped to 1.66 billion units worth RM2.61 billion from Friday's 1.68 billion units worth RM2.80 billion.

Warrant turnover widened to 972.26 million units worth RM125.01 million from 810.24 million units worth RM88.93 million previously.

The ACE Market volume fell to 481.26 million units worth RM159.09 million from 529.41 million units worth RM207.76 million last Friday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 240.22 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (271.62 million), construction (182.72 million), technology (349.68 million), financial services (111.37 million), property (175.24 million), plantation (16.22 million), real estate investment trusts (26.70 million), closed-end fund (17,000), energy (93.25 million), healthcare (76.22 million), telecommunications and media (48.57 million), transportation and logistics (39.15 million), utilities (36.29 million), and business trusts (146,500).

-- BERNAMA