Bursa starts new year with a bang
THE Malaysian stock market surged to a record intra-day high of 1,535.02 points on the first day of trading in 2011, driven by plantation and finance stocks' buying.
The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) started 2011 with a bang, closing at a record 1,533.42 points, surpassing the most optimistic of predictions for the start of the year.
Analysts had pegged the stock market's resistance level at 1,532 points this week, after it saw a sudden decline to 1,518.91 points at the last day of trading in 2010.
The FBM KLCI gained 14.51 points, or 0.96 per cent, yesterday to end the day as one of the standout performers in the region.
Markets across the region posted gains, with the Hang Seng Index chalking up the most at 1.74 per cent to close at 23,436.05 points.
Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, Thailand and Vietnam markets were closed for trading yesterday, with South Korea trading only from 10am to 3pm.
"Generally speaking, it's (FBM KLCI) moving quite nicely today on pent-up buying. Last week things were quiet. The so-called window-dressing was a muted one and it looks like retail and institutional investors are back to work. You can see a good spread of investor buying," Pong Teng Siew, Jupiter Securities head of research, said yesterday.
He added that plantation stocks dominated a good proportion of top gainers because of the strong performance of crude palm oil (CPO) prices.
"Gains are likely to continue until the middle of the month, perhaps not 14 points everyday, but I expect tidy gains to be seen over the next fortnight," Pong said.
Most research houses expect the FBM KLCI to touch between 1,600 and 1,700 points by the end of 2011 helped by moving of funds into emerging markets, the possibility of an early general election and more government transformation initiatives.
The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) started 2011 with a bang, closing at a record 1,533.42 points, surpassing the most optimistic of predictions for the start of the year.
Analysts had pegged the stock market's resistance level at 1,532 points this week, after it saw a sudden decline to 1,518.91 points at the last day of trading in 2010.
Markets across the region posted gains, with the Hang Seng Index chalking up the most at 1.74 per cent to close at 23,436.05 points.
Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, Thailand and Vietnam markets were closed for trading yesterday, with South Korea trading only from 10am to 3pm.
"Generally speaking, it's (FBM KLCI) moving quite nicely today on pent-up buying. Last week things were quiet. The so-called window-dressing was a muted one and it looks like retail and institutional investors are back to work. You can see a good spread of investor buying," Pong Teng Siew, Jupiter Securities head of research, said yesterday.
He added that plantation stocks dominated a good proportion of top gainers because of the strong performance of crude palm oil (CPO) prices.
"Gains are likely to continue until the middle of the month, perhaps not 14 points everyday, but I expect tidy gains to be seen over the next fortnight," Pong said.
Most research houses expect the FBM KLCI to touch between 1,600 and 1,700 points by the end of 2011 helped by moving of funds into emerging markets, the possibility of an early general election and more government transformation initiatives.
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