Apex Securities Bhd head of research Kenneth Leong said the improvement was also driven by China’s proposal to issue sovereign bonds worth one trillion yuan in an attempt to shore up its economy.
“Looking ahead, we expect the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) to build onto the previous session’s gains amid the calmer market conditions with investors nibbling into the beaten-down stocks.
“Investors would also be keeping a close tab on the release of Malaysia’s Producer Price Index data tomorrow,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng anticipates that China’s stimulus plan will have a positive spillover effect, benefitting regional markets, including Malaysia.
“Therefore, we anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within the range of 1,435 -1,450 for the remainder of the week,” he said.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI gained 6.86 points to 1,442.51 from yesterday’s closing of 1,435.65.
The index, which opened 2.32 points higher at 1,437.97, moved between 1,437.82 and 1,444.53 throughout the day.
Likewise, on the broader market, gainers beat decliners 447 to 360, while 459 counters were unchanged, 1,102 untraded and 20 suspended.
Turnover decreased to 2.83 billion units worth RM1.78 billion from 2.93 billion units worth RM1.94 billion yesterday.
Bursa heavyweights Maybank gained four sen to RM9.00, Public Bank added two sen to RM4.16, CIMB climbed one sen to RM5.69, Petronas Chemicals added 10 sen to RM7.25 and Tenaga Nasional was three sen higher at RM9.88.
Of the actives, Widad widened 4.5 sen to 47.5 sen, Leform bagged one sen to 24 sen, Sarawak Consolidated expanded 0.5 sen to 54.5 sen, while Kanger and MQ Technology were unchanged at 12.5 sen and 2.5 sen respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 46.99 points better at 10,638.32, the FBMT 100 Index was 46.11 points firmer at 10,313.96 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index expanded 45.22 points to 10,863.48.
The FBM 70 Index perked up 50.03 points to 14,018.46 and the FBM ACE Index climbed 20.17 points to 5,067.48.
Sector-wise, the industrial products and services index was 1.27 points higher at 172.38, the financial services index went up 55.06 points to 16,236.18 and the plantation index expanded 25.34 points to 6,882.58.
However, the energy index was 1.82 points down to 872.03.
The Main Market volume was weaker at 1.55 billion units worth RM1.46 billion compared with 1.83 billion units worth RM1.66 billion yesterday.
Warrants turnover advanced to 400.99 million units valued at RM52.67 million against 322.59 million units valued at RM39.82 million yesterday.
The ACE Market volume increased to 867.82 million shares worth RM257.89 million from 766.74 million shares worth RM235.04 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 293.98 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (371.84 million); construction (134.52 million); technology (209.5 million); SPAC (nil); financial services (48.71 million); property (197.08 million); plantation (22.85 million); REITs (9.93 million), closed/fund (44,700); energy (95.23 million); healthcare (43.04 million); telecommunications and media (23.36 million); transportation and logistics (46.36 million); and utilities (61.34 million).