Bursa Malaysia regains 1,600 as benchmark closes higher

Malaysia's FBM KLCI finished at 1,602.27, up 2.69 points or 0.16 per cent, taking the benchmark back above 1,600. An analyst attributed the rise to selective bargain hunting, although a shift in buying towards smaller technology stocks limited the advance.

The index's opening level of 1,603.41 also proved to be its session peak. It later touched 1,596.69 during early trading. Across the market, 626 stocks rose and 416 fell, with another 502 unchanged.

Trading volume slipped to 2.76 billion units from Tuesday's 2.86 billion units. The value of transactions, however, increased to RM2.58 billion from RM2.42 billion.

Thong Pak Leng, vice-president of equity research at Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd, said sentiment remained cautious as foreign selling persisted. He nevertheless described Malaysia's economic fundamentals as resilient, noting that September inflation had eased to 1.8 per cent.

Among heavyweight stocks, Press Metal closed at RM6.86 after an 11-sen rise, while IHH Healthcare finished three sen higher at RM7.94. TNB lost eight sen, ending at RM12.98, and CIMB slipped one sen to RM7.14.

Technology counters Vitrox and UWC gained 38 sen and 34 sen respectively, closing at RM10.68 and RM7.30. Nestle was among the leading decliners, losing 66 sen to finish at RM89.34.