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KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 16): FBM KLCI extended its gain for the second day in a row, tracking bullish trends in regional exchanges thanks to positive market sentiment emanating from the Wall Street surge and supported by ongoing decorating activities , as well as the 2021 Budget being approved yesterday by Dewan Rakyat.
At 5:00 p.m., the FBM KLCI closed 0.44% or 7.39 points higher at 1,681.41, after moving between 1,679.39 and 1,695.87.
Across Bursa Malaysia today, sentiment was positive with 830 winners versus 453 declines, while 458 counters were unchanged. A total of 11.22 billion securities were traded for RM5.18 billion, higher compared to 9.96 billion units worth RM5.09 billion recorded yesterday.
Reuters reported that Asian stocks remained bullish on Wednesday and the US dollar declined as hopes for effective coronavirus vaccines and the growing outlook for more fiscal stimulus in the United States encouraged investors ahead of the holiday season.
New optimism about the US stimulus package pushed Wall Street higher with the Nasdaq hitting an all-time high, as it closed 1.25% or 155.02 points higher at 12,595.06, and the The Dow Jones Index jumped 337.76 points or 1.13% to close at 30,199.31.
In the rest of Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.26%, while Seoul’s Kospi gained 0.54%. In China, the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index added 0.97%, while the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index was down 0.01%.
In Malaysia, remisier Jeffry Azizi Jaafar told theedgemarkets.com that optimism in the local stock market was fueled by overnight gains in the US markets.
He added that investor sentiments also rose on the news that the Lower House passed Budget 2021 yesterday. With the large amount of positive news, he believed that investor mood was also improved by the front activities of year-end, which he believes will bolster KLCI’s performance through the end of 2020.
The heavyweights that boosted FBM KLCI included Top Glove Corp Bhd and Hartalega Holdings Bhd.
Top Glove closed 36 sen or 5.62% higher at RM6.77, following news that its president and Tropicana Corp continued to buy shares in the glove maker. Meanwhile, Hartalega rose 46 sen or 3.84% to close at RM12.44. Both accountants were in the top ten Bursa winners today.
The positive sentiment also extended to other blue chips, such as Genting Bhd and Genting Malaysia Bhd (GenM), which continued their bullish momentum and closed at their nine-month highs.
Genting closed four sen or 0.83% higher at RM4.84, while GenM closed two sen or 0.71% higher at RM2.83.
Consumer products and services counters, such as Nestlé (M) Bhd, Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, Heineken (M) Bhd and Fraser and Neave Holdings Bhd, continued to dominate Bursa’s list of winners.
For actively traded stocks, Sino Hua-An International Bhd appeared at the top again, albeit with a lower trading volume of 759.37 million shares compared to 1.43 billion shares yesterday. The stock closed 1.5 sen at 19 sen.
Other more actively traded stocks were Tiger Synergy Bhd, AT Systematization Bhd, Mlabs Systems Bhd, and Bintai Kinden Corp Bhd.
Meanwhile, oil and gas-related companies, including Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd, Hengyuan Refining Co Bhd, Petronas Dagangan Bhd, Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing Bhd, and Petronas Gas Bhd, were among Bursa’s top declining companies.
Petronas Chemicals, the largest declining company, which is also a component of KLCI, saw its share price settle at 36 sen or 4.52% to RM7.60, while Hengyuan fell 29 sen or 4.42% to RM6.27 .
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