Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI’s rebound was driven by bargain hunting in utilities, energy, and consumer stocks.
“The bourse recovered slightly after a massive sell-off, and we reckon that the FBM KLCI must stay above the 1,600 level to regain its momentum,” he told Bernama.
Regionally, Singapore’s Straits Times Index improved 0.13% to 3,806.14, China’s Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.18% to 3,241.82, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.31% to 19,584.06, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.31% to 38,451.46 and South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.16% to 2,523.55.
Meanwhile, UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors head of investment research Sedek Jantan said the recovery in the local market was further strengthened by encouraging economic data from China and a clear, constructive statement from US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent during his testimony at the Senate Finance Committee hearing yesterday.
“Bargain hunting emerged in the local market following a period of overselling, reflecting renewed investor confidence,” he told Bernama.
Sedek said market participants have also largely absorbed the implications of the recent US export administration requirements aimed at tightening controls on the export of advanced computing chips.
“Our assessment suggests that this development is unlikely to disrupt the timelines or progress of ongoing data centre projects, mitigating concerns about supply chain interruptions,” he added.
At 5pm, the benchmark index increased 11.18 points to 1,566.72 from yesterday’s close of 1,555.54.
The FBM KLCI, which opened 2.11 points easier at 1,553.43, moved between 1,545.67 and 1,569.43 during the day.
Market breadth was positive, with gainers leading losers 543 to 434, while 511 counters were unchanged, 889 untraded and 19 others suspended.
Turnover decreased to 3.10 billion units valued at RM3.06 billion from yesterday’s 3.57 billion units valued at RM3.15 billion.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank was flat at RM10.14 while CIMB fell 1 sen to RM7.98. Public Bank added 5 sen to RM4.44, Tenaga Nasional jumped 48 sen to RM13.60 and IHH Healthcare bagged 4 sen to RM7.15.
Of the active stocks, Gamuda shed 2 sen to RM4.24, CBH Engineering trimmed 1 sen to 32.5 sen and SNS Network decreased 3 sen to 51.5 sen, while Velocity Capital and TWL Holdings were flat at 8 sen and 2.5 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 83.78 points to 12,008.83, the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 102.96 points to 11,865.66 and the FBMT 100 Index garnered 81.08 points to 11,695.97.
The FBM 70 Index went up 115.36 points to 17,945.88 and the FBM ACE Index rose 17.32 points to 5,176.26.
By sector, the energy index increased 9.07 points to 840.55, the financial services index added 73.53 points to 18,808.87, the industrial products and services index improved 1.30 points to 166.65, and the plantation index inched up 0.06 of-a-point to 7,336.44.
The Main Market volume expanded to 1.73 billion units worth RM2.83 billion against yesterday’s 1.64 billion units worth RM2.74 billion.
Warrants turnover reduced to 924.72 million units valued at RM80.98 million versus 1.07 billion units valued at RM93.08 million previously.
The ACE Market volume shrank to 443.98 million units worth RM147.44 million from 860.68 million units worth RM317.65 million yesterday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 243.06 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (284.4 million), construction (196.36 million), technology (245.04 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (77.25 million), property (280.88 million), plantation (30.46 million), REITs (11.46 million), closed/fund (18,900), energy (193.53 million), healthcare (41.65 million), telecommunications and media (29.83 million), transportation and logistics (20.75 million), utilities (84.3 million), and business trusts (1,400).