Malaysian Stock Market Closes Firmer

KUALA LUMPUR, May 11 (Bernama) – The Malaysian stock market (Bursa Malaysia) closed firmer on the back of a strong buying momentum in most heavyweights and in line with an upbeat performance in the regional stock markets following improved oil prices, dealers said. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 8.83 points higher at 1,775.39 after fluctuating between 1,774.59 and 1,780.49 throughout the day. The index opened 9.73 points higher at 1,776.29 from Tuesday's close of 1,766.56. Market breadth was positive with gainers outpacing decliners 560 to 376, while 404 counters were unchanged, 410 untraded and 19 others suspended. Volume widened to 3.55 billion units valued at RM3.47 billion from 3.23 billion units worth RM2.74 billion on Tuesday. The local bourse was closed on Wednesday for the Wesak Day celebration. PChem was the largest contributor to the gain in the composite index, accounting for 2.175 points. The stock gained 16 sen to RM7.32 with 10.85 million shares transacted. Brent crude increased 1.21 per cent and was traded at US$50.83 per barrel at press time. Of the top gainers, BAT rose 98 sen to RM46.00 and AEON Credit improved 64 sen to RM18.06. Mercury Securities Sdn Bhd Research Head, Edmund Tham, said the improved sentiment was also lifted by the favourable external news such as the recent winning of centrist Emmanuel Macron in the French presidential election and the solid economic data in the United States. “On the home front, I reckon Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s visit to China would be positive especially for technology industry players as he will also be witnessing first hand the success of the Alibaba group in Hangzhou,” he told Bernama. Meanwhile, Bursa Malaysia in a statement today announced that Yen Global Bhd (stock short name Yen) had been changed to G3 Global Bhd with the stock short name G3. “The company’s shares will be traded and quoted under the new name with effect from 9 am on May 16, 2017. “The company’s stock number remain unchanged,” it said. Among heavyweights, Maybank fell five sen to RM9.31, TNB and Sime Darby each increased two sen to RM13.92 and RM9.33, respectively, while Public Bank eased two sen to RM19.96. Of actives, Netx was flat at 9.5 sen, AirAsia X added half-a-sen to 50.5 sen, while Glotec lost half-a-sen to 6.5 sen. The FBM Emas Index added 73.52 points to 12,718.89, the FBMT 100 Index increased 71.32 points to 12,349.11 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 78.49 points higher at 13,073.99. The FBM 70 soared 125.63 points to 15,337.87 and the FBM Ace rose 15.48 points to 6,338.96. Sector-wise, the Finance Index climbed 58.17 points to 16,374.90, the Plantation Index improved 25.19 points to 8,095.11 and the Industrial Index was 35.57 points firmer at 3,269.08. -- BERNAMA