Shares on the Bursa Malaysia recorded some mild profit taking on Tuesday, July 21. This is perhaps unsurprising given that the local bourse had chalked up pretty impressive gains over the past week.

 In fact, the FBM KLCI had racked up almost 76 points on the back of five consecutive days of gains. The benchmark index hit a new high for the year on Monday.

On Tuesday, it opened slightly higher but then traded in and out of positive territory with some investors opting to lock in recent gains. Market breadth suggested broad-based profit taking activities. The selling pressure, however, was well absorbed.

 The benchmark index eventually closed less than five points lower at 1,134.7. At the close, there were roughly two losing stocks for every gaining one. Some of the day’s big gainers were PPB, KL Kepong, Tanjong plc and Maybank. At the other hand, BCHB, Public Bank and DiGi gave back some of their recent gains to close lower.

 Trading was relatively brisk. About 913 million shares changed hands. Much of the trading interest was centered on lower liner stocks. KNM was the most heavily traded counter for the day. Other actively traded stocks include UEM Land, Axiata, Tebrau Teguh, AMDB and JAKS Resources.

 Investor confidence in stocks appear likely to stay bullish on the back of better than expected corporate earnings results and more evidence of a global economic recovery. US stocks had stringed together six straight days of gains. Wall Street’s strong performance is fuelling the current rally in Asian stock markets.

 The renewed optimism has also given commodity prices a boost. Crude oil futures are currently trading near US$64 per barrel, after falling below US$59 per barrel just last week. Crude palm oil futures traded on the Bursa Derivatives too has recouped some lost ground, currently trading above RM2,100 per tonne.