KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia closed in positive territory in line with the regional sentiment recovery.
At 5.00pm today, the FBM-KLCI rose 12.02 points to close at 1,559.59.
There were 764 gainers, 331 losers and 420 counters traded unchanged on the Bursa Malaysia.
The benchmark index, which opened one point firmer at 1,548.57, moved between 1,548.38 and 1,559.94 throughout the trading session.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said major regional indices finished higher as worries over an expanded conflict in the Middle East eased, prompting investors to re-embrace riskier assets.
Additionally, Thong said the People's Bank of China opted to maintain its benchmark loan prime rate at historically low levels on Monday, signalling its commitment to maintaining accommodative monetary conditions to bolster economic recovery.
"As for the local bourse, we observe a shift in sentiment towards a more positive direction currently, driven by the recovery of losses and greater involvement in the global equity market.
"Hence, we anticipate the benchmark index to trend within the range of 1,540-1,570 for the week with immediate resistance at 1,570 and support at 1,540," he told Business Times today.
Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd added nine sen to RM9.74, Public Bank Bhd increased five sen to RM4.20, Axiata Group Bhd edged up seven sen to RM2.62 and YTL Corp Bhd gained seven sen to RM2.67.
Among the actives, Keyfield International Bhd rallied to RM1.93, Pan Malaysia Holdings Bhd was half sen higher at 22 sen, Ancom Logistics Bhd expanded 4.5 sen to 22.0 sen and Bina Puri Holdings Bhd inched down half-a-sen to 7.5 sen while Ingenieur Gudang Bhd was flat at 14.0 sen.
