KUALA LUMPUR (June 1): The FBM KLCI closed 0.15% or 2.35 points higher at 1,585.90 today.

CIMB Group Holdings Bhd as well as gaming giants Genting Bhd and Genting Malaysia Bhd were the leaders among the index’s components.

The positive sentiment was also present on other indices of the local bourse, with only 12 posting declines, while the rest saw gains today.

In terms of market breadth, the numbers of gainers slightly edged the number of losers today at 585 versus 526, while 394 counters were unchanged.

Today’s top actives were Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd, Focus Dynamics Group Bhd and Dagang NeXchange Bhd (DNeX). The list of top value gainers, meanwhile, was headed by Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd (MPI), Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd and Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd. 

Conversely, British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd, Pharmaniaga Bhd and Sedania Innovator Bhd were the local bourse’s top losers.

Areca Capital chief executive officer (CEO) Danny Wong noted that today saw a rebound from the decline and negative sentiment seen yesterday, noting that investors were bottom-fishing for value stocks today.

Regional markets were largely in positive territory. Across the causeway, the Singapore Straits Times Index was 0.56% or 17.66 points higher at 3,181.94.

Chinese markets too closed higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index finished 1.08% or 316.20 points higher at 29,468, while the Shanghai Composite was 0.26% or 9.24 points better at 3,624.71.

As for the Nikkei 225, it finished 0.16% or 45.74 points lower at 28.814.34.

Reuters reported today that emerging markets made a strong start to June, with stocks rising to more than three-month highs, while currencies moved further up in record territory.

“May factory activity data from several emerging market countries showed a mixed bag, with manufacturing activity in South Korea and Russia expanding, while [it was] slowing in India and contracting in Turkey.

"In China, factory activity expanded at the fastest pace this year, but inflation pressure crimped production of some companies,” it reported.