Bursa Malaysia Up 1.09 Pct, CI A Whisker Away From Key 1,500 Level

By Abdul Hamid A Rahman

KUALA LUMPUR, April 18 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed higher on the final trading day of the week, finishing just a whisker away from the psychological 1,500 mark, lifted by positive regional cues and improved investor sentiment.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 16.13 points, or 1.09 per cent, to 1,499.40 compared to Thursday’s close of 1,483.27.

The benchmark index opened 1.63 points lower at 1,481.64 and thereafter slipped to 1,480.52 in early trading before gaining strength to end the day at its intraday high.

In the broader market, gainers thumped decliners 543 to 256, while 441 counters were unchanged, 1,183 untraded, and 29 others suspended. 

Turnover dwindled to 1.69 billion units valued at RM1.24 billion from 2.40 billion units valued at RM1.60 billion on Thursday.  

UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said the key catalyst for today’s upbeat performance was Chinese President Xi Jinping’s high-profile visits to several Asian countries.

“These events fuelled optimism across Asian markets, with most indices closing on a positive note,” he told Bernama.

As reported by Bernama recently, investor sentiment has improved following Xi’s recent tour of Southeast Asia — which included visits to Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia — aimed at strengthening economic ties amid rising trade tensions with the United States.

The diplomatic initiative is widely seen as a strategic move to counterbalance the impact of Washington’s significant tariffs on Chinese exports and to foster closer regional alliances.

On the domestic front, Mohd Sedek noted that the consumer discretionary and consumer staples sectors remain the pillars of market resilience, underpinned by solid fundamentals and sustained household demand.

“Counters linked to retail and household consumption have outperformed, reflecting Malaysia’s stable macroeconomic conditions.

“Investors looking to ride this trend may consider blue chip consumer stocks with strong earnings visibility, though selective stock-picking remains essential given prevailing valuation gaps,” he added.

Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the local market was lifted by buying interest in technology, banking, plantation, and energy stocks.

“Most key regional indices also advanced, although markets in Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore were closed for the Good Friday holiday,” he said.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank jumped 15.0 sen to RM10.02, CIMB Group advanced 12.0 sen to RM6.88, Public Bank climbed 6.0 sen to RM4.39, IHH Healthcare improved 4.0 sen to RM6.89, and Tenaga Nasional edged up 2.0 sen to RM13.50.

As for the actives, Ingenieur Gudang perked up 1.0 sen to 4.0 sen, Tanco Holdings rose 3.0 sen to 89 sen, while NexG, Velesto Energy, and Widad Group all gained half-a-sen to 32 sen, 16 sen, and 3.5 sen respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased 121.19 points to 11,121.50, the FBMT 100 Index jumped 120.63 points to 10,904.73, the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 96.18 points to 10,910.13, the FBM 70 Index surged 186.22 points to 15,613.63, and the FBM ACE Index rose 17.25 points to 4,575.38.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index soared 252.62 points to 18,033.52, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.85 of-a-point to 145.08, the Energy Index gained 10.52 points to 665.87, and the Plantation Index climbed 83.23 points to 7,226.38.

The Main Market volume advanced to 1.22 billion units worth RM1.14 billion from 1.14 billion units worth RM1.40 billion on Thursday.

Warrants turnover tumbled to 173.07 million units valued at RM96.45 million from 983.89 million units valued at RM106.68 million yesterday.

The ACE Market volume rose to 295.24 million units worth RM94.17 million from 271.06 million units worth RM92.17 million previously.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 165.98 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (289.98 million), construction (120.47 million), technology (172.04 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (49.77 million), property (141.13 million), plantation (14.02 million), REITs (7.84 million), closed/fund (4,100), energy (145.00 million), healthcare (45.63 million), telecommunications and media (17.79 million), transportation and logistics (30.20 million), utilities (24.80 million), and business trusts (7,100).

-- BERNAMA