KUALA LUMPUR (July 6): Bursa Malaysia’s average daily trading value surged 59% to RM3.27 billion in the first half of the year (1H2024), from RM2.06 billion for the same corresponding period in 2023, showing that trading on the equity market is thriving.

Bursa Malaysia Bhd (KL:BURSA) chief executive officer Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift said the FBM KLCI benchmark index crossed the psychological 1,600-point mark in early May - the highest level in two years, and continued to dynamically move between the 1,580 and 1,620 levels.

“On the equity front, Bursa achieved a historic milestone, surpassing market capitalisation of RM2 trillion on May 7,” he said in his keynote address at the Phillip Capital 14th Annual Investment Conference 2024 on Saturday.

Muhamad Umar said the daily trading volume of all derivatives products combined reached a historic high, exceeding 178,000 contracts on May 29, while open interest, a vital gauge of market depth and price trend momentum, hit a record of over 366,000 contracts on March 26.

Besides, the crude palm oil futures (FCPO) contract recorded a historic daily trading volume of over 141,000 contracts on April 3, surpassing the previous record of over 127,000 contracts on March 17, 2020.

“Open interest for the FCPO also reached a new high of over 299,000 contracts on March 14, surpassing the previous high of over 288,000 contracts on Sept 10, 2014,” he said.

In addition, he said the FBM KLCI Futures (FKLI) trading volume continued to see a positive trend, culminating in a record daily trading volume of over 95,000 contracts on April 26, surpassing the previous record of over 73,000 contracts on Oct 27, 2023.

“The uptrend in FKLI prices was a reflection of the higher KLCI, while the surge in trading volume underscored the growing confidence and opportunities in the Malaysian capital market,” he said.

Muhamad Umar said that this week, there were three consecutive ACE Market listings alone across the construction, technology and consumer sectors, and the companies made impressive share price gains.

“All of them debuted at triple-digit percentage gains from their initial public offering (IPO) prices, ranging between 129% and 204% in their opening prices,” he said.

He added that Bursa had welcomed 24 new IPOs to the market thus far this year, and by the end of July, this number will increase to 28.

He said the 24 IPOs so far comprise four on the Main Market, 19 ACE Market listings, and one on the LEAP Market, recording a combined market cap of RM7.6 billion. 

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/node/718117