Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia finished higher on Wednesday as bargain-hunting activities emerged following a recent pullback in the market, analysts said. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased 0.13 percent, or 2.21 points, to 1,682.13 from Tuesday's close of 1,679.92.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the index opened 2.11 points better at 1,682.03 and moved between 1,680.49 and 1,690.66 throughout the trading session. Market breadth was positive with gainers outpacing decliners 518 to 483, while 564 counters were unchanged, 1,175 untraded, and 41 suspended. Turnover shrank to 2.76 billion units valued at RM2.42 billion against 3.35 billion units worth RM3.12 billion on Tuesday.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng, noted that major Asian markets ended higher amid broad buying in technology and semiconductor stocks. As for the local bourse, he mentioned a cautious stance despite the recent rebound in the benchmark index. He highlighted that bargain hunting has lifted the market from its recent lows, but lingering geopolitical uncertainties, persistent foreign fund outflows, and the lack of strong near-term catalysts are likely to keep investors cautious.

Thong further explained that the recent market correction has made valuations of selected blue-chip stocks more attractive, which could provide support for the broader market. Overall, he expects the FBM KLCI to remain range-bound between 1,680 and 1,700 for the remainder of the week as investors assess global developments and the sustainability of the recent recovery.

Meanwhile, IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan stated that gains in the local bourse were led by healthcare stocks, followed by telecommunications and banking counters, as investors rotated into sectors with recent price corrections. The telecommunications sector, in particular, attracted buying interest after declining five percent since Tuesday last week, while selected banking stocks rebounded on renewed value buying.

Mohd Sedek pointed out that while foreign investors remained net sellers, the market's ability to advance reflects continued support from domestic institutions and suggests ongoing sector rotation rather than a broad-based risk-off sentiment. This resilience indicates that investors remain constructive on Malaysia's medium-term economic and earnings prospects, with market pullbacks offering opportunities for selective accumulation.

Among heavyweight stocks, IHH Healthcare rose 17 sen to RM8.73, IOI Properties Group increased by 7.0 sen to RM4.10, Maxis climbed 4.0 sen to RM3.28, MRDIY added 2.0 sen to RM1.65, and CelcomDigi gained 3.0 sen to RM2.68. Of the top active counters, Zetrix AI eased half a sen to 75.5 sen, Tanco increased by half a sen to 14 sen, Dagang NeXchange added 1.5 to 44 sen, Pegasus Heights was flat at 1.0 sen, while HHRG decreased by 1.0 sen to 9.5 sen.

Top gainers included United Plantations, which advanced 66 sen to RM33.62, Nestle, which climbed 66 sen to RM95.66, MPI, which added 38 sen to RM46.88, Kelington, which rose 26 sen to RM7.54, and UWC, which ticked up 22 sen to RM6.32. Among the top losers, FandN fell 50 sen to RM27.40, Hong Leong Industries slipped 28 sen to RM18.72, TMK Chemical sank 16 sen to RM2.48, Hong Leong Financial Group declined 14 sen to RM18.18, and XL Holdings tumbled 13.5 sen to 75 sen.

On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index increased 34.00 points to 12,474.66, the FBM Top 100 Index climbed 31.05 points to 12,308.29, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 64.06 points to 12,376.54. The FBM Mid 70 Index surged 108.54 points to 17,887.26, and the FBM ACE Index jumped 47.35 points to 4,767.03.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index slid 16.83 points to 19,756.34, while the Energy Index gained 2.74 points to 750.20, the Plantation Index rose 12.47 points to 8,980.19, and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.48 of a point to 184.66. The Main Market volume narrowed to 1.40 billion units worth RM2.13 billion from 1.70 billion units valued at RM2.79 billion on Tuesday. Warrants turnover decreased to 947.50 million units valued at RM118.73 million versus 1.02 billion units worth RM121.03 million yesterday. The ACE Market volume tumbled to 411.17 million units worth RM168.90 million against 622.37 million units worth RM209.06 million previously.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 170.22 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (239.92 million), construction (67.69 million), technology (338.77 million), financial services (54.44 million), property (245.53 million), plantation (38.54 million), real estate investment trusts (16.10 million), closed-end fund (314,400), energy (67.97 million), healthcare (78.63 million), telecommunications and media (33.85 million), transportation and logistics (27.11 million), utilities (29.70 million), and business trusts (21,000).