KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended higher today, with investor interest focused on selected major energy, plantation, and telecommunication stocks.
At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 7.95 points, or 0.52 per cent to 1,544.02 from last Friday's close of 1,536.07.
The benchmark index opened 1.43 points higher at 1,537.50 and traded between 1,537.07 and 1,544.71 throughout the day.
On the broader market, gainers led decliners 565 to 451, with 442 counters unchanged, 815 untraded, and eight others suspended.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said that key regional indices also trended higher, supported by a positive outlook from China.
Thong said this followed China's PMI rebound in March after a five-month decline, coupled with US inflation figures reaffirming expectations for the Federal Reserve to ease policy this year.
"On the domestic front, we are cautiously optimistic given the improving investor sentiment following the positive economic data, nonetheless, investors are advised to stay alert on the increasing market volatility.
"We anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within the range of 1,527-1,557 for the week with immediate support at 1,527 and resistance at 1,557," he told the Business Times.
Of the heavyweights, Petronas Gas Bhd jumped 64 sen to RM18.26, PPB Group Bhd rallied 46 sen to RM15.84 and Maxis Bhd added 5.0 sen to RM3.42. Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd grew 24 sen to RM16.82 and CelcomDigi Bhd bagged 5.0 sen to RM4.24.
Among the actives, Bina Puri holdings Bhd, Velesto Energy Bhd and Sapura Energy Bhd were all flat at 8.0 sen, 29.5 sen and 5.0 sen, respectively, while My E.G. Service Bhd eased half-a-sen to 78.5 sen and Perdana Petroleum Bhd dropped 1.0 sen to 32 sen. Ends