Bursa Malaysia Closes Above Key 1,600 Level, Tracking Regional Rally

By Abdul Hamid A Rahman

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed higher for the third consecutive day, breaking the psychological 1,600 mark, lifted by positive regional sentiment on the back of Wall Street’s rally on Friday.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 4.98 points, or 0.31 per cent, to close at 1,602.45 from Friday’s close of 1,597.47.

The benchmark index opened 5.35 points firmer at 1,602.82, and moved between 1,599.59 and 1,609.65 throughout the day.

However, the broader market was slightly negative, with decliners leading advancers 581 to 520, while 462 counters were unchanged, 1,041 untraded and 13 suspended. 

Turnover advanced to 2.90 billion units worth RM3.17 billion from 2.63 billion units worth RM2.70 billion on Friday.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI continued its upward trajectory, tracking gains in key regional indices, which closed mostly higher on optimism that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) may begin cutting interest rate cuts as early as next month.

For the local bourse, the market bellwether broke four resistance levels -- 1,540, 1,565, 1,585 and 1,600 --in the past three weeks suggesting strong bullish momentum and the potential for further upside, he told Bernama

“Nonetheless, we do not discount the possibility of profit-taking emerging following the recent strong uptrend. If the benchmark index hold its breakout above 1,600, the next upside target is at 1,650 over the months ahead, underpinned by firm base support at 1,540–1,550. We anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within the 1,590-1,620 range for the week,” he said.

Meanwhile, UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said the FBM KLCI extended its winning streak for the third consecutive session in tandem with Wall Street’s positive momentum last Friday.

“The rally was underpinned by Fed chairman Jerome Powell’s remarks at the Jackson Hole Symposium, which signalled the Fed’s openness to a potential rate cut in September. 

“In today’s session, the index opened firmly, reaching an intraday high of 1,609.65 within the first hour of trading, before easing back towards the 1,602 level,” he said.

He added that the benchmark index has advanced 5.8 per cent month-to-date, implying that some near-term consolidation is likely as investors lock in gains.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank climbed 5.0 sen to RM9.85. Public Bank and CIMB added 4.0 sen each to RM4.51 and RM7.50, respectively, Tenaga Nasional increased 16 sen to RM13.72, while IHH Healthcare eased 5.0 sen to RM6.79.

For the most active counters, Magma group shrank 9.5 sen to 21.5 sen, Mtouche Tech and Tanco Holdings eased half-a-sen to 4.0 sen and 73 sen, respectively, while Permaju Industries was flat at 1.0 sen and Zetrix AI added 1.5 sen to 88.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 35.50 points to 11,870.06, the FBMT 100 Index advanced 37.62 points to 11,648.79, the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 39.33 points to 11,800.75, the FBM 70 Index expanded 60.08 points to 16,616.48, and the FBM ACE Index climbed 16.85 points to 4,760.47.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index gained 82.33 points to 18,305.29 and the Plantation Index added 30.71 points to 7,639.10, while the Industrial Products and Services Index slipped 1.24 points to 164.09, and the Energy Index declined 3.18 points to 745.76.

The Main Market volume improved to 1.76 billion units valued at RM2.93 billion from 1.50 billion units valued at RM2.47 billion on Friday.

Warrants turnover declined to 652.92 million units worth RM88.90 million from 675.98 million units worth RM93.19 million previously.

The ACE Market volume increased to 494.35 million units worth RM145.00 million from 460.91 million units worth RM138.92 million last Friday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 393.33 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (266.67 million), construction (142.58 million), technology (337.24 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (122.91 million), property (168.71 million), plantation (21.09 million), REITs (25.03 million), closed/fund (372,800), energy (100.41 million), healthcare (60.53 million), telecommunications and media (35.55 million), transportation and logistics (34.18 million), utilities (46.71 million), and business trusts (100,000).

-- BERNAMA