KUALA LUMPUR (June 6): The FBM KLCI closed up 3.06 points or 0.17% at 1,791.01 today, reaching a new one-year high as the market outlook remained bullish.
 
“We are expecting the index to retest the 1,800 level, so today’s performance was within the range of our expectations,” said Loui Low, head of retail research at Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd.
 
The gains were mostly led by large cap stocks such as Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) and IHH Healthcare Bhd, Low told theedgemarkets.com.
 
TNB and IHH surged after the noon break, although Low said they pulled back on profit-taking between 3pm and 4pm.
 
He said small cap stocks did not perform as well as the benchmark index. This contributed to decliners outpacing gainers by 547 to 342, while 358 other counters closed unchanged.
 
A total of 2.3 billion shares were traded at a total value of RM2.62 billion. The most actively traded counters were Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV), China Automobile Parts Holdings Ltd, and Xingquan International Sports Holdings Ltd.
 
Among top gainers were TNB, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd (MPI) and British American Tabacco (M) Bhd. Decliners were led by Petronas Gas Bhd, United Plantations Holdings Bhd and Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd.
 
The KLCI did not seem to have been affected by the subdued sentiment in other stock markets caused by escalating tensions in the Middle East, an upcoming testimony from the FBI director, British elections and a European Central Bank meeting.
 
According to Reuters, oil fell following the decision by several Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, to sever ties with Qatar, on accusations of supporting extremism and undermining regional stability.
 
Stocks in Qatar plunged more than 8% to their lowest since January 2016, while the dollar index reached a seven-month low, the news wire said.
 
In Asia, MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan had lost 0.15, down from a two-year high on Monday.