KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended higher today with the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) closing 4.17 points or 0.23 per cent better at 1,849.49.
IHH Healthcare Bhd was the top contributor to the gain in the key index, adding nine sen to RM5.10, with 6.32 million shares changing hands.
Support to the key index also came from other component stocks including RHB Capital which jumped 25 sen to RM9.10, while Malayan Banking, Public Bank and Tenaga Nasional added four sen each to RM10.04, RM19.04 and RM12.38, respectively.
A dealer said the local bourse pared its week loss on the back of the improved risk appetite and in tandem with an upbeat performance on Wall Street.
The US stock benchmark -- the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) -- rose 109.14 points, or 0.6 per cent, to an all-time high of 17,265.99, after data showed fewer Americans filed jobless claims and investors speculated US interest rates would remain low.
Back home, Bank Negara Malaysia left the overnight policy rate unchanged at 3.25 per cent, another factor that prompted investors to bargain hunt for oversold counters.
On the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 578 to 251 with 320 counters unchanged, 482 counters untraded and 14 others suspended.
Total volume rose to 2.60 billion shares worth RM2.26 billion from 2.06 billion shares worth RM2.30 billion on Thursday.
On other scoreboard, the FBM Emas Index climbed 60.16 points higher to 12,944.31, the FBMT100 Index gained 50.92 points to 12,523.15 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 62.74 points better at 13,198.81.
The FBM 70 soared 144.93 points to 14,306.89 and the FBM Ace surged 119.22 points to 7,255.61.
On a sectoral basis, the Finance Index jumped 104.42 points to 17,392.41, the Industrial Index added 7.17 points to 3,209.40 and the Plantation Index rose 33.43 points to 8,397.72.
Of the actively-traded stocks, Efficient E-Solutions gained five sen to 35.5 sen, Sanichi Technology added 1.5 sen to 14 sen, PDZ Holdings appreciated one sen to 31 sen, Sumatec Resources improved half-a-sen to 42 sen and I-Bhd-Loan Rights dipped two sen to 5.5 sen.
Main Market volume rose to 1.70 billion units worth RM2.09 billion from 1.49 billion units worth RM1.72 billion on Thursday.
Turnover on the ACE Market surged to 789.73 million shares valued at RM152.92 million from 464.73 million shares valued at RM106.39 million previously.
Warrants shrank to 26.23 million units worth RM4.06 million from 29.13 million units worth RM3.67 million yesterday.
Consumer products accounted for 131.16 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products (280.04 million), construction (53.58 million), trade and services (812.09 million), technology (97.54 million), infrastructure (28.18 million), SPAC (54.81 million), finance (48.42 million), hotels (437,700), properties (135.53 million), plantations (39.64 million), mining (28,100), REITs (18.74 million) and closed/fund (1,000).-- Bernama