Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia reversed earlier losses to close higher on Tuesday as buying interest gained momentum in the afternoon session, an analyst noted. At the end of the day, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased by 7.66 points, or 0.44%, closing at 1,747.43, up from Monday's close of 1,739.77. The benchmark index, which began 1.97 points lower at 1,737.80, fluctuated between a low of 1,732.64 and a high of 1,747.82 throughout the trading day.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, market breadth was negative, with 605 losers surpassing 539 gainers. A total of 599 counters remained unchanged, 889 were untraded, and 11 were suspended. Turnover decreased to 2.86 billion units valued at RM2.59 billion, compared to 3.05 billion units worth RM2.55 billion the previous day.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's vice-president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng, commented that while the late rebound indicates some buying support, overall market participation remains selective as investors assess ongoing geopolitical developments and elevated oil prices. He noted that the local bourse remained cautious despite the positive close, as underlying sentiment continues to be influenced by external uncertainties. Looking ahead, Thong expects the FBM KLCI to trade in a consolidation mode with a slight upward bias, supported by selective accumulation in key sectors. In the near term, the index is expected to move within the 1,710-1,750 range.
Meanwhile, IPPFA Sdn Bhd's director of investment strategy and country economist, Mohd Sedek Jantan, observed that the day's performance showed measured resilience despite rising geopolitical tensions, with gains concentrated in petroleum-linked heavyweights as crude oil held firm near US$110 per barrel amid emerging strains in the US-Iran ceasefire. He highlighted that the index's composition remains tactically leveraged to energy price dynamics, allowing oil-related names to cushion broader risk-off sentiment. He added that the index trended higher through the mid-afternoon and sustained momentum into the close, suggesting steady institutional accumulation rather than momentum-driven buying.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank fell eight sen to RM11.20, IHH Healthcare erased four sen to RM8.83, CIMB jumped 20 sen to RM7.89, while both Public Bank and Tenaga Nasional were flat at RM4.75 and RM14.80, respectively. On the most active list, Zetrix AI inched up half-a-sen to 86.5 sen, GIIB Holdings rose 2.5 sen to 18.5 sen, Tanco added one sen to RM1.62, Straits Energy Resources lost three sen to 4.5 sen, and UEM Sunrise slid one sen to 63 sen.
Among the top gainers, Petronas Dagangan gained 24 sen to RM20.34, and Telekom Malaysia increased by 19 sen to RM7.80. Petronas Chemicals and Hong Leong Industries advanced by 22 sen each to RM5.92 and RM17.92, respectively. Conversely, among the top losers, Nestle dropped RM2.10 to RM101.70, Malaysian Pacific Industries declined 50 sen to RM37.50, Fraser and Neave dipped 46 sen to RM29.56, Hong Leong Bank shed 20 sen to RM22.10, and Malayan Cement slipped 19 sen to RM6.71.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index climbed 39.57 points to 12,887.34, the FBM Top 100 Index soared 42.58 points to 12,731.62, the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 42.10 points to 12,866.55, and the FBM Mid 70 Index rose 4.27 points to 18,269.48. However, the FBM ACE Index declined 34.99 points to 4,601.07.
By sector, the Financial Services Index strengthened 44.01 points to 20,134.33, the Industrial Products and Services Index ticked up 1.45 points to 197.67, and the Plantation Index improved 33.43 points to 9,007.20, while the Energy Index fell 2.08 points to 835.63. The Main Market volume slipped to 1.67 billion units valued at RM2.38 billion from 1.74 billion units valued at RM2.27 billion on Monday. Warrants turnover shrank to 871.29 million units worth RM113.70 million from 918.52 million units worth RM146.22 million previously. The ACE Market volume decreased to 319.05 million units valued at RM96.14 million from 388.84 million units valued at RM132.46 million yesterday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 219.52 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (288.34 million), construction (161.44 million), technology (305.67 million), financial services (62.40 million), property (192.77 million), plantation (29.78 million), real estate investment trusts (18.05 million), closed-end fund (18,000), energy (160.97 million), healthcare (106.99 million), telecommunications and media (26.68 million), transportation and logistics (48.49 million), utilities (45.50 million), and business trusts (314,700).