Bursa hits highest close ever
KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia yesterday closed above 1,700 points for the first time on a strong rally, fuelled by election fever.
A combination of aggressive local and foreign institutional buying and solid corporate results pushed the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (FBM KLCI) 10.8 points higher to 1,707.04.
This is the highest closing for Bursa Malaysia since its establishment in 1964.
The FBM KLCI, which tracks the top 100 companies with the largest market capitalisation, breached the psychological 1,700-point level in morning trade to hit a high of 1,708.97.
In afternoon trade, the index dipped slightly but still ended higher than Thursday's closing of 1,696.20.
Analysts attributed the rally to the continued bullish sentiment among local and foreign investors over the ruling party's chances of a landslide victory in the 13th General Election on May 5.
AmInvestment Services Bhd director of retail funds Ng Chze How said historically, the market will always strengthen when the general election is around the corner.
"That has always been the trend for the past 25 years and the market will continue to be strong with huge buying interest by local and foreign funds from now until the (election) results day (on May 6)."
Ng added that strong corporate earnings with average returns of eight to nine per cent and Malaysia's solid economic fundamentals also contributed to the rally.
He said barring any major surprises in the election results, the stock market will continue to do well.
"Any small surprises, the market will be okay ... but if there is a major surprise, the market could react negatively as investors don't like uncertainty."
Ng, nevertheless, said compared to its regional peers, Bursa Malaysia is still "not that fantastic and has a lot of catching up to do".
Yesterday, Maybank was the most active, closing three sen lower at RM9.63, followed by YTL Corp, which gained one sen to close at RM1.65, and Axiata Group, which gained nine sen to settle at RM6.75.
Among top gainers were British American Tobacco, which added 58 sen to close at RM64.38, followed by IOI Corp (20 sen higher to RM4.98), Petronas Dagangan (18 sen higher to RM23.44) and Sime Darby (14 sen higher to RM9.39).
This is the highest closing for Bursa Malaysia since its establishment in 1964.
The FBM KLCI, which tracks the top 100 companies with the largest market capitalisation, breached the psychological 1,700-point level in morning trade to hit a high of 1,708.97.
In afternoon trade, the index dipped slightly but still ended higher than Thursday's closing of 1,696.20.
 |
AmInvestment Services Bhd director of retail funds Ng Chze How said historically, the market will always strengthen when the general election is around the corner.
"That has always been the trend for the past 25 years and the market will continue to be strong with huge buying interest by local and foreign funds from now until the (election) results day (on May 6)."
Ng added that strong corporate earnings with average returns of eight to nine per cent and Malaysia's solid economic fundamentals also contributed to the rally.
He said barring any major surprises in the election results, the stock market will continue to do well.
"Any small surprises, the market will be okay ... but if there is a major surprise, the market could react negatively as investors don't like uncertainty."
Ng, nevertheless, said compared to its regional peers, Bursa Malaysia is still "not that fantastic and has a lot of catching up to do".
Yesterday, Maybank was the most active, closing three sen lower at RM9.63, followed by YTL Corp, which gained one sen to close at RM1.65, and Axiata Group, which gained nine sen to settle at RM6.75.
Among top gainers were British American Tobacco, which added 58 sen to close at RM64.38, followed by IOI Corp (20 sen higher to RM4.98), Petronas Dagangan (18 sen higher to RM23.44) and Sime Darby (14 sen higher to RM9.39).
Comments
Post a Comment