KUALA LUMPUR (March 30): Bursa Malaysia ended mixed on Wednesday (March 30) with the key index almost flat on lack of market catalyst, although the broader market showed a positive tone.

At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 0.2 of-a-point to 1,583.22 from 1,583.42 at Tuesday’s close.

The index opened 2.13 points higher at 1,585.55 and moved between 1,580.88 and 1,591.4 throughout the trading session.

Market breadth was positive as gainers outpaced losers 521 to 430, while 419 counters were unchanged, 922 untraded, and 88 others suspended.

Total turnover increased to 3.41 billion units worth RM2.16 billion from 2.63 billion units worth RM1.98 billion on Tuesday.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said key regional markets ended mostly higher, tracking the upbeat performance on Wall Street overnight, as talks on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine appeared to make progress.

Back home, the FBM KLCI moved in a tight consolidation mode, but it managed to close above the 1,580 support level.

“On a brighter note, regional sentiment has improved and we expect foreign investors to return to the Malaysian equity market given the cheap valuations of our stocks, hence giving more opportunity to bottom fish,” he told Bernama.

Thong said, additionally, the reopening of the international borders beginning this Friday provided a boost to the country's economy and prospects of recovery in some sectors such as real estate investment trust (REIT), tourism, retail, and hospitality.

“As such, we expect the FBM KLCI to move higher for the remainder of the week within the 1,580-1,595 range,” he said.

Regionally, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 1.39% to 22,232.03, South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.21% to 2,746.74, Singapore’s Straits Times Index gained 0.06% to 3,436.04, while Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.8% to 28,027.25.

Local heavyweights Malayan Banking Bhd and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd lost two sen each to RM8.88 and RM9.56 respectively, IHH Healthcare Bhd dropped three sen to RM6.16, while Public Bank Bhd added two sen to RM4.65, and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd inched up one sen to RM5.33.

Of the actives, Metronic Global Bhd and Pegasus Heights Bhd were flat at 1.5 sen and half-a-sen, respectively, Capital A Bhd rose seven sen to 75 sen, BSL Corp Bhd gained two sen to 19 sen, and MY EG Services Bhd was four sen higher at RM1.02.

On the index board, the FBM 70 increased 113.48 points to 13,737.93, FBM Emas Index perked up 18.52 points to 11,337.4, FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 4.96 points to 11,899.28, FBMT 100 Index rose 20.28 points to 11,022.5, and the FBM ACE expanded 43.08 points to 5,601.47.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index shed 0.15 of-a-point to 204, the Plantation Index slid 26.25 points to 7,961.47, while the Financial Services Index jumped 27.29 points to 16,694.64.

The Main Market volume rose to 2.45 billion shares worth RM1.96 billion compared with 1.8 billion shares worth RM1.81 billion on Tuesday.

Warrants turnover swelled to 459.1 million units valued at RM75.7 million against 298.83 million units valued at RM52.11 million.

The ACE Market volume decreased to 494 million shares worth RM130.79 million versus 534.97 million shares worth RM118.04 million previously.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 561.6 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (868.78 billion), construction (103.69 million), technology (194 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (62.22 million), property (283.93 million), plantation (58.35 million), REITs (11.12 million), closed/fund (55,400), energy (130.81 million), healthcare (69.26 million), telecommunications and media (35.16 million), transportation and logistics (26.76 million), and utilities (51.76 million).