KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended trading today on a positive trajectory due to strong buying in construction and energy stocks.
At 5pm today, the FBM KLCI increased 0.54 per cent or 8.09 points to 1,495.70 from last Friday's close of 1,487.61.
The benchmark index opened 0.99 points better at 1,488.60, its intraday low, and moved in an upward trajectory to its intraday high of 1,498.52 in mid-afternoon before retreating towards closing.
On the broader market, gainers beat losers 494 to 448, while 583 counters were unchanged, 695 untraded, and 19 others suspended.
Rakuten Trade equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLC ended in positive territory for the fourth consecutive day thanks to strong foreign buying.
On the home front, Thong said positive sentiment towards the local market is driven by appealing valuations, an upswing in investor confidence, and strong foreign buying.
"As a result, we foresee the FBM KLCI to test the psychological barrier of 1,500 soon.
"For the week, we anticipate the benchmark index to trend within the level of 1,490-1,510 with immediate resistance at 1,510 while support at 1,465," he told Business Times.
Among heavyweights, Public Bank Bhd and CIMB Bank Bhd added three sen each to RM4.36 and RM6.03, respectively, Tenaga Nasional Bhd perked up four sen to RM10.54, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd was two sen higher at RM7.22, while Malayan Banking Bhd was flat at RM9.06.
Today, Capital A Bhd said it had entered into a non-binding letter of offer with AirAsia X Bhd for the proposed disposal of its aviation business, namely AirAsia Bhd (AirAsia Malaysia) and AirAsia Aviation Group Ltd.
Following the announcement, Capital A shares ended 1.5 sen higher at 84.5 sen with 40.09 million shares traded.
Of the actives, Ekovest Group Bhd edged up 3.5 sen to 59 sen, Ta Win Holdings Bhd and Minetech Resources Bhd inched up half-a-sen to 4.5 sen and 22 sen, respectively, Iskandar Waterfront City Bhd was 6.5 sen firmer at 96.5 sen, while Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd was flat at three sen.