Kuala lumpur: Bargain hunting in heavyweight financial services counters enabled Bursa Malaysia's benchmark index to recover from earlier losses and close at an intraday high, a level not seen in more than six years, despite mixed regional sentiment.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 4.25 points, or 0.25 percent, reaching 1,715.16 from the previous close of 1,710.91. This surpassed the prior peak of 1,713.45 recorded on February 27, 2019. The market opened slightly lower at 1,710.35 and hit an intraday low of 1,701.83 in early trade before climbing throughout the day.

Market breadth was negative, with 583 decliners leading 503 gainers, while 562 counters remained unchanged, 990 were untraded, and 21 were suspended. Turnover increased to 3.25 billion units valued at RM3.32 billion from the previous 3.11 billion units worth RM3.19 billion.

IPPFA Sdn Bhd's director of investment strategy and country economist, Mohd Sedek Jantan, noted that the FBM KLCI extended its rally for a fifth consecutive session as investors continued deploying capital. He highlighted that foreign investors recorded four consecutive days of net inflows from January 9 to 14, indicating Malaysia is increasingly seen as a core allocation.

Among financial heavyweights, Maybank rose to RM11.10, Public Bank increased to RM4.75, while CIMB and Tenaga Nasional each advanced to RM8.45 and RM13.92, respectively. IHH was slightly lower at RM8.43.

In terms of active stocks, V.S. Industry and Zetrix AI both decreased slightly, while Capitral A and Northeast Group saw declines. Tanco experienced a slight increase. Among top gainers, Malaysian Pacific Industries, Hong Leong Bank, and others saw notable increases. Conversely, Nestle, United Plantations, and others were among the top decliners.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index, FBM Top 100 Index, and others showed varied performance, with some indices increasing while others fell. The Financial Services Index notably jumped, while the Energy and Plantation Indices experienced declines.

Main Market volume slightly decreased, while warrants turnover expanded significantly. The ACE Market volume dwindled compared to the previous day. Various sectors accounted for the shares traded on the Main Market, with consumer products and services leading in volume.