KUALA LUMPUR (March 22): Bursa Malaysia ended mixed on Tuesday (March 22) with the barometer index easing 0.09% after going through a choppy trading day, with buying interests spotted mainly in plantation and oil and gas (O&G) counters, while the broader market was slightly positive on mild buying support.

At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 1.35 points weaker at 1,585.81 from 1,587.16 at Monday’s close.

After opening 1.63 points easier at 1.585.53, the key index moved between 1,583.97 and 1,591.67 throughout the trading session.

On the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 504 to 403, while 441 counters were unchanged, 965 untraded, and 24 others suspended.

Total turnover soared to 3.09 billion units valued at RM2.84 billion from 2.44 billion units valued at RM2.27 billion on Monday. 

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said buying interest centred mainly on plantation and O&G counters during the trading session, while profit taking was seen in banking and healthcare stocks.

“The FBM KLCI has been in a consolidation mode since the middle of March as investors were wary of the heightened regional volatility and geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine. We reckon that investor sentiment will remain cautious over the short term, hence, we expect the FBM KLCI to move in a narrow range and hover at the 1,575-1,595 range for the remainder of the week,” he told Bernama.

Thong also said that most key regional indices closed higher as higher commodity prices triggered strong buying interests in energy and materials sectors.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 increased 1.48% to 27,224.11, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 3.15% to 21,889.28, South Korea's Kospi gained 0.89% to 2,710, while Singapore’s Straits Times Index lost 0.11% to 3,351.97.

Meanwhile, Bursa Malaysia heavyweights Malayan Banking Bhd decreased two sen to RM8.83, Public Bank Bhd and IHH Healthcare Bhd were down one sen each to RM4.62 and RM6.51, respectively, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd erased five sen to RM5.30, while Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd rose 18 sen to RM9.58.

Of the actives, market debutant Farm Fresh Bhd added 37 sen to RM1.72, CSH Alliance Bhd perked up one sen to 16 sen, Fitters Diversified Bhd dipped 1.5 sen to 17 sen, AT Systematization Bhd eased half-a-sen to two sen, while Dagang NeXchange Bhd was flat at RM1.03.

Top gainers, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd jumped 72 sen to RM25.70, PMB Technology Bhd was 48 sen higher at RM17.36, Greatech Technology Bhd gained 21 sen to RM4.43, while D&O Green Technology Bhd and Complete Logistic Services Bhd soared 20 sen each to RM4.49 and RM3.29, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index went up 14.48 points to 11,302.28, FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 29.15 points to 11,914.16, FBM 70 added 87.7 points to 13,537.09, FBMT 100 Index advanced 9.31 points to 10,998.34, and the FBM ACE was 21.83 points better at 5,435.41.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index shed 1.35 points to 201.81, the Financial Services Index fell 59.61 points to 16,585.97, while the Plantation Index surged 184.47 points to 8,053.33.

The Main Market volume rose to 2.26 billion shares worth RM2.67 billion compared with 1.67 billion shares worth RM2.08 billion on Monday.

Warrants turnover increased to 369.06 million units valued at RM65.29 million against 339.32 million units valued at RM68.21 million.

The ACE Market volume expanded to 462.95 million shares worth RM110.47 million versus 437.34 million shares worth RM122.94 million previously.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 538.52 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (840.64 million), construction (31.95 million), technology (219.89 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (70.33 million), property (179.97 million), plantation (113.16 million), REITs (2.98 million), closed/fund (67,600), energy (167.84 million), healthcare (31.11 million), telecommunications and media (18.64 million), transportation and logistics (19.44 million), and utilities (23.32 million).