By NG MIN SHEN / Pic By ISMAIL CHE RUS

Bursa Malaysia Bhd’s (BMB) share price recovered yesterday after the brutal global equity market sell-offs on Tuesday, and touched a 10-year high as investors bet the slew of initiatives to create a vibrant capital market, will benefit the bourse operator.

Shares of BMB closed 12 sen higher yesterday at RM10.88 for a market capitalisation of RM5.84 billion. It reached an intraday high and low of RM11.30 and RM10.60 respectively.

Earlier yesterday, the stock soared 54 sen or 5% to reach RM11.30, a 10-year high not seen since January 2008. It opened four sen higher at RM10.80 before rising to RM10.94 at 9.08am and hitting RM11 by 9.22am. The high of RM11.30 was short-lived as investors locked on the gains.

On Tuesday, the stock market operator’s share price declined 30 sen or 2.76% to RM10.58 before recouping to RM10.72 at 4pm as the global equity markets felt the shivers from US equity market historic plunge on Monday.

The government announced a three-year stamp duty waiver on share trades for small and mid-cap companies traded on the local bourse, the creation of a corridor to facilitate Malaysia- Singapore shares trading, the opening up of intraday short selling to all investors, the liberalisation of margin financing rules, and a six-month waiver on trading and clearing fees for new investors.

The initiatives are largely seen as the government’s efforts to boost retail participation in the local stock exchange which has been falling in the last few years.

The proposed stock market trading link between Bursa Malaysia and Singapore Exchange Ltd is also touted as a boon for retail investors who want greater exposure to both markets.

AmInvestment Bank Bhd expects BMB’s earnings will be boosted by the newly announced measures, while RHB Investment Bank Bhd had upgraded its call on BMB to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’.