PETALING JAYA: Bargain-hunting and window-dressing activities, particularly in glove and banking stocks, lifted Bursa Malaysia to end higher, with the benchmark index gaining 1.15%.
As at 5pm, the benchmark FBM KLCI surged 17.46 points to end at 1,533.91 compared with 1,516.45 at Friday’s close.
The index opened 0.92 of-a-point higher at 1,517.37 and moved between 1,515.10 and 1,535.93 points throughout the day.
On the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 486 to 335, while 424 counters were unchanged, 1,065 untraded and 14 others suspended.
Turnover increased to 2.21 billion units valued at RM1.36bil from Friday’s 1.88 billion units valued at RM911.77 mil.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the company reckoned that some bargain-hunting and window-dressing activities would continue, given the cheap valuations of the local market as compared to regional peers.
added five sen to RM8.30, Public Bank Bhd and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd rose three sen each to RM4.15 and RM5.39, respectively, and Hong Leong Bank Bhd was 16 sen higher at RM18.66." src="https://apicms.thestar.com.my/uploads/images/2021/12/28/1422392.jpg" onerror="this.src='https://cdn.thestar.com.my/Themes/img/tsol-default-image2017.png'" style="width: 620px; height: 413px;">Among the banking heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd added five sen to RM8.30, Public Bank Bhd and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd rose three sen each to RM4.15 and RM5.39, respectively, and Hong Leong Bank Bhd was 16 sen higher at RM18.66.
“On the other hand, we shall remain cautious given the heightened market volatility across the region, as some investors are still cautious as uncertainty over the economic impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant weighed on investor sentiment.
“Other regional markets such as Singapore, Taiwan and the Philippines were positive but gains were capped as China and Japan faced prospects of tighter curbs amid rising Covid-19 cases,” he told Bernama.
Among the banking heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd added five sen to RM8.30, Public Bank Bhd and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd rose three sen each to RM4.15 and RM5.39, respectively, and Hong Leong Bank Bhd was 16 sen higher at RM18.66.
Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd advanced eight sen to RM8.85 and IHH Healthcare Bhd was nine sen higher at RM6.66, with Tenaga Nasional Bhd adding 10 sen to RM9.31.
Of the active counters, XOX Bhd and AT Systematization Bhd were both flat at three sen and 3.5 sen respectively, and ATA IMS Bhd dipped 5.5 sen to 65.5 sen.
For rubber-related stocks, Top Glove Corp Bhd added 17 sen to RM2.36, KL Kepong Bhd added 20 sen to RM21.62, and Rubberex Corp (M) Bhd added 1.5 sen to 53 sen. The FBM Emas Index was 106.40 points higher at 11,101.91, the FBMT 100 Index climbed 107.50 points to 10,809.21, and the FBM Emas Syariah Index increased 138.98 points to 11,941.66.