Bursa Malaysia Snaps 6-day Losing Streak, Ci Up On Bargain Hunting
By Siti Radziah Hamzah
KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 (Bernama) -- The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) snapped a six-day losing streak to close the week higher as bargain-hunting emerged due to improved risk sentiment.
At 5 pm, the FBM KLCI rose 8.36 points, or 0.55 per cent, to 1,535.38 from Thursday's close of 1,527.02.
The benchmark index, which opened 4.91 points higher at 1,531.93, fluctuated between 1,531.76 and 1,536.75 throughout the day.
In the broader market, gainers beat losers 468 to 447, while 506 counters were unchanged, 998 untraded, and 41 suspended.
Turnover fell slightly to 2.72 billion units worth RM2.17 billion compared with Thursday's 2.78 billion units worth RM2.15 billion.
UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said the FBM KLCI reversed six days of losses, staging a broad-based recovery that began in the morning session and was sustained throughout the day.
He added that improved risk sentiment, coupled with a pullback in US Treasury yields, spurred bargain-hunting across selected large-cap stocks.
'Notably, the easing in bond yields after a strong spike provided relief to rate-sensitive sectors, particularly local banking stocks, which led gains on the day. As a result, we observed a meaningful rebound in both the financial sector index and key banking counters, contributing positively to the overall index performance,' he told Bernama.
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