Bargain-hunting Activities Push Bursa Malaysia Higher At The Close

By Durratul Ain Ahmad Fuad and Danni Haizal Danial Donald

KUALA LUMPUR, July 17 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended two days of losses to close higher on Thursday, tracking gains in the regional markets as bargain-hunting activities emerged following the recent sell-off.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 9.44 points or 0.63 per cent to 1,520.94 from Wednesday’s close of 1,511.50.

The benchmark index opened 0.39 of a point higher at 1,511.89 and subsequently moved between 1,511.64 and 1,521.15 throughout the session.

The market breadth was positive, with 547 gainers outpacing 416 decliners and 475 counters unchanged, while 1,019 were untraded and eight suspended.

Turnover eased to 3.17 billion shares worth RM2.48 billion, compared with 3.18 billion shares worth RM2.44 billion on Wednesday.

UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd's head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said regional bourses recorded gains, suggesting a broader return of risk appetite.

The local market was in sync with most of its regional peers -- Singapore’s Straits Times Index rose 0.66 per cent to 4,159.57, South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.37 per cent to 3,192.29 and Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained by 0.6 per cent to 39,901.19. However, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index inched down 0.08 per cent to 24,498.95.

“Looking ahead, attention will turn to key United States (US) economic data releases later today, with June retail sales figures and last week’s jobless claims scheduled for release.

“These indicators are likely to offer further insight into the strength of US consumer spending and labour market conditions — both critical gauges for the US Federal Reserve’s policy outlook and global market sentiment,” he told Bernama.

Mohd Sedek also said the FBM KLCI staged a sharp rebound today as investors seized on undervalued opportunities — a timely reminder that market fear often fades faster than value does.

“Today’s performance was underpinned by a technical rebound, with bargain-hunters rotating into stocks that had been heavily sold down in recent sessions,” he added.

Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the stronger-than-expected China's gross domestic product (GDP) figures also lifted investor sentiment.

“We believe the benchmark index needs to reclaim the 1,530 level with strong volume in order to stage a sustained upward trajectory. For the moment, we anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within the range of 1,510-1,530 towards the weekend,” he said.

Among the heavyweight counters, Public Bank gained two sen to RM4.25, Tenaga Nasional added 10 sen to RM13.78 and IHH Healthcare was one sen higher at RM6.53, while Maybank and CIMB were flat at RM9.53 and RM6.50.

In active trade, ACE Market debutant iCents Group gained 10 sen to 34 sen, NexG and Tanco rose half-a-sen each to 49 sen and 90 sen and Lotte Chemical Titan garnered 5.5 sen to 56 sen while Zetrix AI dropped 1.5 sen to 93.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased 54.14 points to 11,425.17, the FBMT 100 Index gained 55.72 points to 11,188.37, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 70.02 points to 11,473.97.

The FBM 70 Index went up 22.65 points to 16,544.04, while the FBM ACE Index garnered 53.90 points to 4,635.98.

By sector, the Financial Services Index surged 58.59 points to 17,302.35, the Industrial Products and Services Index improved 1.36 points to 153.99, and the Plantation Index bagged 23.75 points to 7,430.54. The Energy Index inched up 3.44 points to 739.11

The Main Market volume retreated to 1.28 billion units worth RM2.08 billion from 1.38 billion units valued at RM2.11 billion on Wednesday.

Warrant turnover fell to 1.38 billion units valued at RM207.39 million from 1.49 billion units worth RM213.66 million previously.

The ACE Market volume increased to 512.88 million units valued at RM192.81 million, versus 304.96  million units worth RM112.71 million yesterday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 220.49 million shares traded on the Main Market; industrial products and services (196.20 million), construction (92.47 million), technology (239.05 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (67.42 million), property (168.57 million), plantation (12.64 million), REITs (22.85 million), closed-end fund (4,200), energy (65.69 million), healthcare (78.87 million), telecommunications and media (38.44 million), transportation and logistics (40.28 million), utilities (34.28 million), and business trusts (15,600).

-- BERNAMA