KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended trading today on a positive trajectory, reaching an intraday peak influenced by key regional indices that predominantly showed positive trends.
As at 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 0.57 per cent or 8.22 points to 1,456.26 compared with yesterday's closing of 1,448.04 .
The key index opened 0.84 of a point better at 1,448.88 and moved between 1,448.14 and 1,456.26 throughout the day.
In the broader market, gainers thumped losers 567 to 352, while 452 counters were unchanged, 973 untraded, and 37 others suspended.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI finished higher with buying mainly on banking, gaming and commodity related stocks.
Tong said the key regional indices were mostly in the green following positive cue from Wall Street overnight after the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) kept its fed funds target rate unchanged at 5.25-5.50 per cent.
"Additionally, the US Fed signalled it will begin cutting interest rates next year. The news sparked a rally on Wall Street with the Dow Jones index closing at a record high. With the rate cut in the US, we expect foreign funds will return to the region due to the attractive valuations of the regional markets and better economic growth.
"Hence we expect Malaysia to benefit from the spillover effect which will have a positive impact on the local market.
"With the renewed optimism, anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within the range of 1,455-1,465 towards the weekend," he told Business Times.
Among heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd was two sen lower at RM9.05 but Public Bank Bhd added four sen at RM4.30, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd gained two sen at RM5.81, Tenaga Nasional Bhd was nine sen better at RM9.97 and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd was flat at RM7.15.
Of the actives, Sapura Energy Bhd was flat at five sen, Top Glove Corp Bhd added 3.5 sen to 91 sen, Velesto Energy Bhd and SMTrack Bhd were one sen better at 22.5 sen and five sen respectively