Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (May 29): Trading value soars to RM9.31 billion today on Bursa Malaysia — two years after the previous peak at RM9 billion on May 31, 2018 — with 9.04 billion securities traded across the board. 

The FBM KLCI today marked its third consecutive trading day of gains with the benchmark index climbing 15.75 points or 1.08% to close at a three-month high of 1,473.25.

Strong interest was also seen in the small-cap stocks with the FBM Small Cap Index jumping 153.46 points or 1.29% to 12,061.84 — nearly a three-month high

Among the sector indices, Bursa Malaysia Property index led with a 4.88% climb to settle at 641.05 points today. It was followed by the Utilities Index, which increased 3.98% to 992.63 points, Healthcare Index, which rose 2.31% to 2,296.25, Consumer Products and Services, up 2.29% to 567.72 points, while Industrial Products and Services jumped 1.78% to 130.06 points. 

The overall market breadth was bullish with advancers trouncing losers 610 to 379, while 427 counters were unchanged. 

When contacted, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior analyst Kenneth Leong told theedgemarkets.com the gains seen in KLCI were partly due to the continued buying interest in glove stocks, such as Top Glove Corp Bhd and Hartalega Holdings Bhd. 

Also, in light of the semi-annual fund re-balancing activities, it pushed up the trading volume and value across the local exchange market.

Among the 30 constituents of KLCI, Hartalega, which rose 12.57% or RM1.40 to close at RM12.54 today, led the gainers, followed by two Petronas-related counters — Petronas Gas Bhd, which rose 9.83% or RM1.70 to close at RM19, and Petronas Dagangan Bhd, which was up 9.41% or RM2.02 to settle at RM23.48.

On the regional front, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 dropped 0.18%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 0.74% and South Korea's Kospi inched up 0.05%.

Reuters reported that stock markets dipped and safe-havens such as bonds and Japan’s yen went up on Friday, as investors awaited Washington’s response to China tightening control over the city of Hong Kong.

China’s parliament on Thursday pressed ahead with national security legislation for the city, raising fears over the future of its freedoms and function as a finance hub, the newswire added.

US President Donald Trump is expected to hold a news conference on Friday. Trepidation about a further deterioration in Sino-US relations has dampened market sentiment. 

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