At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI gained 1.22 points to 1,610.17 compared to 1,608.95 at yesterday’s close. ― Picture by Razak GhazaliKUALA LUMPUR, June 13 — Bursa Malaysia’s barometer index pared its earlier gains at the close, but market breadth remained strong with a mix of profit-taking and bargain-hunting activities.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said investors returned to hunt for bargains in utilities and banks after two days in negative territory, but opted to dump telecommunication counters after the previous rally.“Nevertheless, market breadth was positive and daily trading volume remains strong. Most key regional bourses closed higher, and bond yields declined as investors weighed the cooling US inflation,” he said.
“Hence, we anticipate the benchmark index to trend within the range of 1,610-1,625 towards the weekend with immediate resistance at 1,620 and support at 1,610,” he said. Among the active counters, Sapura Energy was flat at 4.0 sen, JCY climbed 11.5 sen to 89.5 sen, MYEG went up five sen to RM1.14, Agmo rose 8.0 sen to 71 sen, and SNS Network dipped three sen to 84.5 sen.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index advanced 6.36 points to 17,560.04, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 1.74 points to 200.87, and the Energy Index expanded by 32.94 points to 1,012.24, but the Plantation Index fell by 36.33 points to 7,027.82.