BURSA MALAYSIA REBOUNDS TO CLOSE SLIGHTLY HIGHER, LED BY HEALTHCARE, UTILITIES & BANKS

By Siti Noor Afera Abu

KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 (Bernama) -- Shares on Bursa Malaysia reversed yesterday’s losses to finish higher on Tuesday, driven by buying interest in healthcare, utilities and banking counters.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased 2.46 points or 0.15 per cent to 1,690.36 from Monday’s close of 1,687.90. 

The benchmark index opened 6.39 points firmer at 1,694.29 and moved between 1,688.98 and 1,695.77 throughout the day.

The broader market was firmer, with gainers leading decliners 547 to 510. A total of 550 counters were unchanged, 1,060 untraded and 60 suspended.

Turnover narrowed to 3.64 billion units worth RM3.96 billion from yesterday’s 3.98 billion units worth RM4.85 billion.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said he remains cautious on the local bourse in the short term despite today’s positive close, anticipating continued elevated market volatility globally.

“We expect investors to stay defensive and selective, favouring commodity-linked and resilient sectors as a hedge against external risks.

“In the absence of clear positive catalysts, the FBM KLCI is likely to trade in a consolidation mode, with near-term movements guided by developments in geopolitical tensions and crude oil price trends. As such, we anticipate the benchmark index to move within the 1,680-1,710 range for the rest of the week,” he told Bernama.

IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said that, from a macroeconomic perspective, markets are now recalibrating to a less favourable mix of higher energy costs and weakening technology sentiment, a combination that historically compresses risk appetite across emerging markets.

“Unless oil prices stabilise and geopolitical tensions ease, any near-term upside in regional equities is likely to remain shallow, tactical, and driven more by positioning adjustments than a durable improvement in fundamentals,” he said.

Among heavyweights, Maybank rose 16 sen to RM11.36, Public Bank climbed two sen to RM4.68, Tenaga Nasional erased 26 sen to RM13.90, CIMB increased seven sen to RM7.55, and IHH Healthcare was eight sen higher at RM8.98.

On the most active list, Top Glove added six sen to 69 sen, Sunway Healthcare lost nine sen to RM2.00, Zetrix AI shed 1.5 sen to 74 sen, and Bumi Armada perked up 1.5 sen to 34.5 sen.

Among top gainers, Malaysian Pacific Industries rose 46 sen to RM28.78, United Plantations added 40 sen to RM34.00, PPB garnered 34 sen to RM12.00, and Hong Leong Industries jumped 24 sen to RM16.74.

As for top losers, Sunway Construction declined 48 sen to RM6.37, Sunway Bhd tumbled 40 sen to RM4.80, Petronas Dagangan slipped 32 sen to RM21.84, and Petronas Gas slid 26 sen to RM17.96.

On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index increased 21.73 points to 12,174.91, the FBM Emas Index put on 25.64 points to 12,304.38, the FBM 70 Index gained 47.44 points to 16,864.69, the FBM Emas Shariah Index slid 35.04 points to 12,117.21, while the FBM ACE Index edged up 2.12 points to 4,246.91.

By sector, the Financial Services Index surged 174.88 points to 20,023.99, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 2.27 points to 182.90, the Energy Index sank 10.50 points to 797.54, and the Plantation Index decreased 32.31 points to 8,984.23.

The Main Market volume fell to 2.16 billion units valued at RM3.70 billion from Monday’s 2.54 billion units valued at RM4.59 billion.

Warrants turnover expanded to 1.22 billion units worth RM162.61 million from 1.13 billion units worth RM148.35 million previously. 

The ACE Market volume declined to 262.23 million units valued at RM99.35 million from 301.21 million units valued at RM109.89 million yesterday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 206.82 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (355.05 million), construction (192.10 million), technology (209.44 million), financial services (135.56 million), property (149.76 million), plantation (71.91 million), real estate investment trusts (24.93 million), closed-end fund (83,200), energy (241.82 million), healthcare (425.80 million), telecommunications and media (48.73 million), transportation and logistics (40.52 million), utilities (61.11 million), and business trusts (119,500).

-- BERNAMA