KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 8): Bursa Malaysia saw follow-through buying from last week with the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) ending broadly higher for the fourth consecutive day on Monday, led by construction and energy stocks.

At 5pm, the KLCI increased 0.54% or 8.09 points to 1,495.70 from last Friday’s close of 1,487.61.

The benchmark index opened 0.99 of a point better at 1,488.6, its intraday low, and moved in an upward trajectory to its intraday high of 1,498.52 in mid-afternoon before retreating towards closing.  

On the broader market, gainers beat losers 494 to 448, while 583 counters were unchanged, 695 untraded, and 19 others suspended.

Turnover surged to 6.96 billion units worth RM4.21 billion from 6.62 billion units worth RM3.72 billion last Friday. 

Rakuten Trade equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said the KLC ended in the positive territory, thanks to strong foreign buying.

Meanwhile, he said key regional indices closed mixed, with heavy selling in Hong Kong and China, as tensions in the US-China trade war intensified.

“The imposition of sanctions by both parties on several companies added to the market volatility and has impacted market sentiment.

“Investors are eagerly awaiting Friday's inflation data from China, as it is expected to serve as a key indicator for gauging the central bank's policy outlook,” he said. 

Back home, he said Rakuten Trade's positive outlook on the local market is driven by appealing valuations, an upswing in investor confidence and strong foreign buying.

“As a result, we foresee the FBM KLCI to test the psychological barrier of 1,500 soon.

“For the week, we anticipate the benchmark index to trend within the 1,490-1,510 level with immediate resistance at 1,510 and support at 1,465,” he added. 

Among heavyweights, Public Bank Bhd and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd added three sen each to RM4.36 and RM6.03, respectively, Tenaga Nasional Bhd perked up four sen to RM10.54, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd was two sen higher at RM7.22, while Maybank Bhd was flat at RM9.06.

On Monday, Capital A Bhd said it has entered into a non-binding letter of offer with AirAsia X Bhd for the proposed disposal of its aviation business, namely AirAsia Bhd (AirAsia Malaysia) and AirAsia Aviation Group Ltd.

Following the announcement, Capital A shares ended 1.5 sen higher at 84.5 sen with 40.09 million shares traded. 

Of the actives, Ekovest Bhd edged up 3.5 sen to 59 sen, Ta Win Holdings Bhd and Minetech Resources Bhd each inched up half a sen to 4.5 sen and 22 sen, respectively, Iskandar Waterfront City Bhd was 6.5 sen firmer at 96.5 sen, while Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd was flat at three sen.  

On the index board, the FBM ACE Index expanded 10.43 points to 5,448.70, the FBM Emas Index put on 62.16 points to 11,159.38, the FBMT 100 Index climbed 56.99 points to 10,801.36, the FBM 70 Index surged 73.97 points to 15,133.84, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 45.63 points to 11,277.77.

Sector-wise, the Energy Index rose 9.18 points to 849.0, the Industrial Products and Services Index improved 1.20 points to 178.19, the Financial Services Index jumped 86.72 points to 16,669.05, the Plantation Index was 34.81 points higher to 7,065.73, while the Property Index lost 3.16 points to 922.60.

The Main Market volume advanced to 4.74 billion units valued at RM3.80 billion against 4.52 billion units valued at RM3.3 billion on Friday.  

Warrants turnover swelled to 867.57 million units worth RM108.87 million from 714.25 million units worth RM88.62 million previously. 

The ACE Market volume narrowed to 1.34 billion shares valued at RM303.6 million versus 1.36 billion shares valued at RM341.15 million last Friday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 521.13 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (1.34 billion); construction (434.86 million); technology (534.22 million); SPAC (nil); financial services (112.28 million); property (739.6 million); plantation (47.1 million); REITs (13.29 million), closed/fund (197,700); energy (356.88 million); healthcare (295.53 million); telecommunications and media (38.27 million); transportation and logistics (106.81 million); and utilities (199.28 million).