Palm | Kelapa Sawit

Share prices on Bursa Malaysia closed higher today on active buying of bluechips, particularly finance and plantation,

and in line with gains on regional markets, dealers said.

Gains in BAT and DRB Hicom pushed the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) to close higher by 2.17 points or 0.14 per cent to 1,561.77.

The index had opened 2.13 points easier at 1,557.47 and hovered between the 1,554.58 and 1,561.91 levels in moderate trading. BAT rose 30 sen to RM46.80 and DRB Hicom added 29 sen to RM2.24.

The stock market started out in negative territory due to selling pressure, continuing from where it left off on Monday, according to HwangDBS Vickers Research.

The market also took cue from the US market's overnight weak close, which saw its key equity indices dipping between 0.6 per cent and 0.7 per cent, it said in a research note.

However, the market posted moderate gains towards mid-day, tracking regional markets which edged higher after US President Barack Obama expressed confidence that the current stalemate over increasing the nation's debt ceiling can be resolved, a dealer said.

"It's a positive development and can make a huge impact on our stock market," the dealer added.

The Finance Index rose 39.689 points to 14,777.3, the Plantation Index fell 0.61 of a point to 7,720.31 and the Industrial Index added 3.8 points to 2,871.85.

The FBM Emas Index increased 20.739 points to 10,739.81 and the FBMT100 gained 19.6 points to 10,518.6 and the FBM Ace Index improved 26.13 points to 4,145.49.

The overall market breadth was positive with advancers leading decliners by 374 to 334 while 325 counters closed unchanged and 462 others untraded.

Volume rose to 1.04 billion shares valued at RM1.54 billion from the 810.53 million shares worth RM1.57 billion yesterday.

Actively-traded, Ingenuity Solutions-Warrant fell one to 2.5 sen, Hibiscus Petroleum-Warrant rose 3.5 sen to 17 sen, Jotech added half a sen to 15.5 sen and Axiata increased three sen to RM5.13.

Animal feed maker, Peterlabs Holdings, which made its debut on the Ace Market at half-a-sen premium over its offer price of 30 sen, declined six sen to 24 sen.

Among heavyweights, Maybank rose two sen to RM8.85, CIMB fell five sen to RM8.40, Petronas Chemicals was unchanged at RM7.01, Sime Darby added one sen to RM9.20 and Axiata increased three sen to RM5.13.

Among top gainers, Coastal Contracts Bhd-Wa rose 31 sen to 61.5 sen, Zecon Bhd-Wa added 30.5 sen to 44.5 sen, QSR Brands-Wa increased 22 sen to RM3.34 and Kwantas gained 19 sen to RM2.29.

Volume on the Main Market rose to 675.684 million shares valued at RM1.5 billion from the 605.085 million shares worth RM1.329 billion on Monday.

Turnover on the ACE Market increased to 289.89 million shares worth RM35.17 million from 186.364 million shares valued at RM18.554 million previously.

Warrants added to 76.05 million units valued at RM11.06 million from 61.623 million units worth RM10.612 million previously.

Consumer products accounted for 26.23 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products 164.02 million, construction 61.72 million, trade and services 192.53 million, technology 12.08 million, infrastructure 4.93 million, finance 49.95 million, hotels 355,300, properties 56.23 million, plantations 29.28 million, mining 50,000, REITs 5.85 million and closed/fund 102,500. – Bernama

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