Kuala Lumpur:Bursa Malaysia concluded today’s trading session with modest gains, reflecting an overall positive sentiment across regional markets. This improvement was fueled by softer US labor data, which reduced the likelihood of further Federal Reserve tightening and eased pressure on bond yields.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose by 0.88 points, closing at 1,631.75, up from last Friday's 1,630.87. The index opened higher at 1,633.42 and fluctuated between 1,630.95 and 1,640.46 throughout the day.
Despite the gains in the benchmark index, the broader market saw more decliners than gainers, with 599 stocks falling compared to 564 advancing, while 523 remained unchanged. The market saw a turnover of 4.78 billion units valued at RM2.89 billion, an increase from the previous session's 4.23 billion units worth RM2.70 billion.
Thong Pak Leng, vice-president of equity research at Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd, noted that technology stocks were significant beneficiaries. He also observed that while domestic liquidity remains supportive, foreign selling continues to pose a challenge. Thong expects the FBM KLCI to recover gradually but remain volatile, predicting a trading range between 1,620 and 1,650 this week.
Among major stocks, Public Bank increased by five sen to RM4.71, CIMB rose by eight sen to RM7.73, and Tenaga Nasional gained four sen to RM13.00. Conversely, Maybank dropped two sen to RM10.00, and IHH Healthcare decreased by four sen to RM7.76.
In active trading, V.S Industry advanced three sen to 32 sen, while Zetrix AI fell by five sen to 6.5 sen. Among the top gainers, Malaysian Pacific Industries rose RM1.00 to RM43.40, and UMS Integration climbed 37 sen to RM9.40. Batu Kawan led the top losers, declining RM1.48 to RM18.98.
Index-wise, the FBM Mid 70 Index rose 61.56 points to 17,543.49, and the FBM Emas Index added 19.78 points to 12,190.35. The Financial Services Index gained 99.63 points to 19,140.14, whereas the Energy Index fell by 3.09 points to 829.94. The Main Market's volume expanded to 3.13 billion units worth RM2.41 billion, with significant contributions from the technology and industrial sectors.