KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia closed higher on Friday in range-bound trading, supported by buying in selected heavyweight stocks.
At the close, the FBM KLCI was up 5.76 points, or 0.36% at 1,598.28. It has risen to an intraday high of 1,599.76. For the week, the benchmark index added 34.38 points, or 2.19%.
Market breadth was positive with gainers outnumbered the losers on a ratio of 627-to-419 stocks. About 4.96 billion shares, valued at RM3bil, changed hands.
Dealers said the performance of the local bourse was in line with its regional peers amid persistent buying from foreign funds.
Stock market data showed foreign funds were net buyers of the local equities at RM80mil on Thursday. Local institutions and retail investors were net sellers at RM47mil and RM33mil respectively.
At Bursa, Genetec surged RM2.56 to RM45, PMB Technology jumped RM1.62 to RM15.68, SAM Engineering rose RM1.12 to RM23.26 and Fraser & Neave gained 88 sen to RM28.66.
Carlsberg fell 60 sen to RM22.74, Carzo lost 41 sen to RM3.56, Theta Edge gave up 24 sen to RM1.20 and Brahim’s declined 22 sen to 24 sen.
Among the component stocks, Petronas Dagangan rose 36 sen to RM19.96, Hong Leong Financial Group gained 18 sen to RM18.50, MISC added 11 sen to RM7.26 and Petronas Gas advanced 10 sen to RM17.10.
Hartalega
fell 20 sen to RM6.02, IHH Healthcare declined four sen to RM6.72 and Top Glove lost three sen to RM2.76.
Meanwhile, Brent crude oil added 84 cents, or 1%, to US$84.84 a barrel while US WTI crude oil climbed 75 cents, or 0.92%, to US$82.06 per barrel.
On the external front, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 1.25%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.81% to close at 29,068.62 while South Korea’s Kospi ended 26.42 points, or 0.88%, higher at 3,015.06.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 368.37 points, or 1.48%, at 25,330.96.
China’s Shanghai Composite index was up 0.4% at 3,572.37 and CSI300 index rose 0.38% to 4,932.11.
