Banking, tech stocks power Bursa Malaysia higher

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia rallied on Tuesday, with the benchmark index gaining nearly 1% as strong buying in banking, semiconductor and technology stocks lifted the broader market in tandem with gains across regional equities.The benchmark FBM KLCI rallied 16.56 points, or 0.99%, to 1,683.50, just shy of its intraday high of 1,684.34, buoyed by buying interest in blue chips.Market breadth was positive, with gainers outpacing losers 678 to 458, while 572 counters were unchanged, reflecting broad-based buying interest.Trading volume stood at 3.576 billion shares worth RM3.152 billion.Dealers said sentiment was buoyed by sustained buying in heavyweight banking stocks, while continued interest in semiconductor and technology counters provided further support.They noted that gains across key regional markets also underpinned risk appetite, with the FBM KLCI closing near its intraday high.Banking, semiconductor and technology stocks were among the gainers.Hong Leong Bank rose 48 sen to RM23.38, CIMB gained 25 sen to RM7.90, RHB Bank added eight sen to RM7.90, Maybank advanced six sen to RM10.44 and Public Bank climbed five sen to RM4.84.Among semiconductor and technology counters, Malaysian Pacific Industries added 40 sen to RM43.20, MI Technovation rose 33 sen to RM5.99, Unisem gained 24 sen to RM4.64 and ViTrox advanced 21 sen to RM10.In contrast, Nestle slid 54 sen to RM89.16, Allianz fell 20 sen to RM21.10, PETRONAS Dagangan lost 18 sen to RM20.14 and Sunway Healthcare gave up 12 sen to RM2.17.In terms of fund flows, foreign funds and retailers were net sellers on Monday offloading equities worth RM21mil and RM7mil respectively.Local institutions emerged as net buyers with total purchases valued at RM28mil.Regionally, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index rose 0.73%, with most regional markets ending higher.Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1.38% to 65,018.95, while South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.15% to 7,017.91.Singapore’s Straits Times Index advanced 0.92% to 5,727.67, Taiwan’s benchmark index rose 0.17% to 47,800.17 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.18% to 25,087.75.In China, the CSI 300 advanced 0.11% to 4,544.59, while the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.06% to 3,952.13.