KLCI climbs on tech and PETRONAS-linked gains

The Star

3 days ago

Rakuten Trade's Thong said the benchmark index continues to show strength, supported by steady net foreign inflows and sustained interest in heavyweight counters.
KUALA LUMPUR: Persistent buying momentum, mostly seen in selected technology and Petroliam Nasional Bhd (PETRONAS)-linked counters pushed the FBM KLCI to record another intraday high at the close yesterday, extending its rally to five consecutive trading sessions, an analyst says.
Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd and Petronas Dagangan Bhd were among the top two gainers, rising RM1 and 44 sen to RM22.40 and RM21.70, respectively.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI rose 8.68 points, or 0.56%, to end at 1,550.21 from Tuesday's close of 1,541.53.
The benchmark index opened 1.8 points lower at 1,539.73 and subsequently hit its lowest level of 1,539.18 in early trade.
The broader market was broadly positive with 531 gainers outpacing 442 decliners, while 498 counters were unchanged, 920 untraded and 14 suspended.
Turnover rose to 3.11 billion units worth RM2.38bil against 2.05 billion units worth RM2.15bil on Tuesday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said key regional indices closed mixed as investors weighed recent remarks by US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, who noted that rate cuts would likely have occurred if not for President Donald Trump's tariff policies.
'In addition, there is growing investor speculation about a possible US-Japan agreement, even as Trump repeated his threat of 30% to 35% tariffs on Japanese products,' he told Bernama.
On the domestic front, he said the benchmark index continues to show strength, supported by steady net foreign inflows and sustained interest in heavyweight counters.
'With a solid technical foundation above the 1,530 level, we raise our weekly target to 1,530-1,560, anticipating that the index will remain firm within this range barring any unforeseen circumstances,' he said.
Among heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd increased four sen to RM9.76, Public Bank Bhd went up six sen to RM4.32, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd and IHH Healthcare Bhd increased three sen to RM6.78 and RM6.83, respectively, while Tenaga Nasional Bhd declined 30 sen to RM14.60.
As for the most active stocks, Automation Group Bhd eased half-a-sen to 16.5 sen, Tanco Holdings Bhd and Compugates Holdings Bhd were flat at 89 sen and 1.5 sen, respectively, while YTL Corp Bhd gained eight sen to RM2.45.