Bursa Malaysia Ends Higher As Bargain Hunting Continues In Banking And Healthcare Stocks
By Siti Noor Afera Abu & Naveen Prabu
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended higher on Tuesday as bargain hunting continued in banking and healthcare stocks amid a mixed performance in major Asian equities.
At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 5.34 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 1,623.35 from Monday’s close of 1,618.01.
The benchmark index, which opened 1.39 points weaker at 1,616.62, moved between 1,611.17 and 1,628.01 throughout the session.
On the broader market, decliners overwhelmed gainers 813 to 381, while 463 counters were unchanged, 1,169 untraded and 21 suspended.
Turnover was marginally higher at 3.60 billion units worth RM3.32 billion compared with 3.36 billion units worth RM2.91 billion on Monday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said he is maintaining his cautiously optimistic stance, supported by more attractive valuations following the recent correction and resilient domestic economic fundamentals. He expects selective bargain hunting to underpin a gradual recovery, particularly among banking heavyweights and fundamentally sound blue chips.
“Domestic institutional support should also help cushion the downside, although persistent foreign selling and weak broader market participation may limit the pace of recovery,” he told Bernama.
Thong also expects the market to consolidate with a mild upward bias as investors reposition towards more attractively valued stocks. “Hence, we anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within the range of 1,600–1,630 for the rest of the week,” he said.
Among the heavyweights, CIMB Group Holdings rose 20 sen to RM7.50, Maybank added one sen to RM9.96, and Public Bank was four sen higher to RM4.70. IHH Healthcare added eight sen to RM7.98, while RHB Bank gained 11 sen to RM7.30.
In active trade, Zetrix AI eased one sen to 6.5 sen, while JAKS Resources dropped two sen to 15 sen and Dagang Nexchange slipped four sen to 47.5 sen. VS Industry added 1.5 sen to 34 sen, while Top Glove Corporation gained four sen to 85.5 sen.
Among the top gainers, Hong Leong Industries gained 22 sen to RM16.30, while Ayer Holdings increased 15 sen to RM7.70. Hong Leong Financial added 14 sen to RM17.60, while Bursa Malaysia jumped 13 sen to RM8.10. AMMB Holdings surged 12 sen to RM6.27.
The top losers included Malaysian Pacific, which trimmed RM1.86 to RM41.16, while Nestle lost 96 sen to RM90.14, and MI Technovation tumbled 52 sen to RM6.50. UMS Integration dived 50 sen to RM8.40, while Vitrox was 50 sen weaker at RM10.74.
On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index declined 104.16 points to 17,378, while the FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped 56.60 points to 12,074.47, and the FBM ACE Index slipped 75.35 points to 5,485.35.
The FBM Emas Index added 2.04 points to 12,106.74, while the FBM Top 100 Index gained 10.61 points to 11,898.46.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index climbed 1.07 points to 179.70, the Financial Services Index bounced 172.03 points to 18,766.17, and the Energy Index edged up 0.90 points to 835.06.
The Plantation Index climbed 1.22 points to 8,813.12.
The Main Market volume increased to 2.19 billion units worth RM2.99 billion from 2.01 billion units worth RM2.61 billion on Monday.
Warrant turnover declined to 860.20 million units worth RM116.20 million from 878.57 million units worth RM121.03 million.
The ACE Market volume increased to 553.61 million units valued at RM204.73 million from 470.43 million units valued at RM180.09 million previously.
Meanwhile, consumer products and services counters accounted for 252.93 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (371.86 million), construction (187.71 million), technology (773.54 million), financial services (120.95 million), property (120.33 million), plantation (27.74 million), real estate investment trusts (15.56 million), closed-end fund (111,100), energy (73.23 million), healthcare (148.50 million), telecommunications and media (25.46 million), transportation and logistics (45.91 million), utilities (31.40 million), and business trusts (135,400).
-- BERNAMA