KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 30 — Bursa Malaysia’s key index ended higher on Wednesday, rebounding from recent losses as oversold conditions spurred bargain hunting.
At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 7.21 points, or 0.43 per cent, to 1,651.17 from Tuesday’s close of 1,643.96.
The benchmark index, which opened 2.53 points higher at 1,646.49, moved between 1,645.03 and 1,657.41 throughout the trading session.
Market breadth was negative, with decliners outpacing gainers 703 to 413, while 572 counters were unchanged, 1,167 untraded and 95 suspended.
Turnover improved to 3.63 billion units worth RM3.62 billion from 3.31 billion units valued at RM2.95 billion on Tuesday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the local market’s recovery remained tentative as investors awaited the August US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, a key inflation gauge that could determine whether the recent decline in bond yields has further room to run.
On the domestic front, he maintained a cautious stance as the US 10-year Treasury yield remained elevated, while geopolitical tensions in West Asia were still unresolved.
“That said, the recent market correction has brought selected blue-chip valuations to more attractive levels, which should provide some downside support and encourage further bargain hunting.
“Hence, we expect buying interest to gradually return to fundamentally strong stocks, although a sustained market recovery will likely require a more favourable external backdrop,” Thong told Bernama.
As such, he anticipated the FBM KLCI to trend within the1,640-1,670 range for the rest of the week.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank was flat at RM9.99, Public Bank eased two sen to RM4.70, CIMB added one sen to RM7.79, Tenaga Nasional rose 24 sen to RM12.96, and IHH Healthcare shed four sen to RM7.83.
In active trade, Zetrix AI slid half a sen to 16 sen, V.S Industry edged up 4.5 sen to 28 sen, Jaks Resources put on 1.5 sen to 20.5 sen, Gamuda jumped 20 sen to RM5.18, and Aimax was unchanged at 0.5 sen.
Among the top gainers, Nestle garnered RM1.00 to RM90.00, Allianz Malaysia advanced 76 sen to RM21.62, UWC increased 27 sen to RM7.07, United Plantations firmed 24 sen to RM31.56, and Petronas Gas advanced 22 sen to RM17.40.
Hengyuan Refining led the decliners, falling 78 sen to RM3.56, Malaysian Pacific Industries erased 40 sen to RM40.40, Kuala Lumpur Kepong lost 30 sen to RM22.20, Genting Plantations shrank 24 sen to RM5.53, and Eurospan fell 23 sen to RM3.01.
On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index lost 35.42 points to 17,574.67, while the FBM Emas Index rose 26.55 points to 12,292.02, and the FBM Top 100 Index gained 32.90 points to 12,084.44.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index leapt 48.73 points to 12,176.35 and the FBM ACE Index put on 5.70 points to 5,534.28.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 0.45 of a point to 180.41 while the Energy Index sank 23.00 points to 845.70. The Financial Services Index dipped 44.35 points to 19,216.49, while the Plantation Index trimmed 19.67 points to 9,196.67.
The Main Market volume increased to 2.23 billion units worth RM3.28 billion from 1.88 billion units valued at RM2.58 billion on Tuesday.
Warrants turnover slipped to 887.74 million units worth RM138.36 million from 978.19 million units valued at RM190.60 million previously.
The ACE Market volume expanded to 510.54 million units valued at RM201.45 million from 447.33 million units worth RM181.49 million yesterday.
Meanwhile, consumer products and services counters accounted for 305.02 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (444.15 million), construction (260.99 million), technology (508.99 million), financial services (82.21 million), property (177.39 million), plantation (42.72 million), real estate investment trusts (33.25 million), closed-end fund (95,200), energy (148.83 million), healthcare (101.96 million), telecommunications and media (31.08 million), transportation and logistics (50.60 million), utilities (45.46 million), and business trusts (144,200).
