Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia closed higher on the first trading day of the week, continuing its positive trend from last week as investor sentiment improved following recent updates on United States tariffs. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased by 5.15 points, or 0.29 percent, to 1,757.98, rising from Friday's close of 1,752.83.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the benchmark index opened 4.14 points higher at 1,756.97 and fluctuated between 1,752.48 and 1,760.03 during the trading session. The market saw more gainers than losers, with 584 rising stocks compared to 520 declining ones, while 537 remained unchanged. Meanwhile, 1,139 stocks were not traded, and 24 were suspended. Market turnover expanded to 2.47 billion units valued at RM2.65 billion, up from 2.03 billion units worth RM2.20 billion last Friday.
Mohd Sedek Jantan, IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist, noted that investor sentiment strengthened as clarity emerged over the shifting US tariff landscape. Recent changes indicated a move away from abrupt, country-specific tariffs to a temporary and neutral framework. The US Supreme Court's decision to halt previous tariff collections deemed illegal, alongside the introduction of a time-bound 15 percent interim tariff, alleviated immediate risks for Malaysia's export sector, spurring early buying interest despite ongoing global policy and geopolitical uncertainties.
Among the heavyweights, Public Bank gained five sen to RM5.08, CIMB Group added one sen to RM8.50, and IHH Healthcare advanced 16 sen to RM9.00. In contrast, Maybank and Tenaga Nasional both slipped two sen to RM12.20 and RM14.14, respectively.
On the most active list, Tanco rose two sen to RM1.48, while Astro Malaysia fell 1.5 sen to 8.5 sen. Zetrix AI eased by half a sen to 83 sen, OCR remained flat at 4.5 sen, and Velesto decreased by half a sen to 31 sen.
Top gainers included Nestle, which surged RM2.70 to RM112.40, Malaysian Pacific Industries went up 44 sen to RM31.02, United Plantations rose 32 sen to RM30.32, PPB Group increased by 30 sen to RM11.16, and KESM Industries added 20 sen to RM3.05.
In contrast, Malayan Cement was among the top losers, declining 29 sen to RM8.40, followed by Hong Leong Industries, down 20 sen to RM18.90. Press Metal fell 17 sen to RM7.53, Petronas Chemicals slid 16 sen to RM3.29, and UMS Integration decreased 15 sen to RM4.00.
The index board showed gains in several indices: the FBM Top 100 Index increased by 40.66 points to 12,708.55, the FBM Emas Index added 39.93 points to 12,886.71, the FBM Mid 70 Index advanced 72.47 points to 17,818.17, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose by 48.76 points to 12,417.05. The FBM ACE Index inched up by 26.56 points to 4,848.68.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index gained 36.04 points to 21,651.71, and the Plantation Index increased by 69.32 points to 8,489.31. However, the Industrial Products and Services Index and the Energy Index declined by 2.53 points to 175.53 and 5.58 points to 770.30, respectively.
Volume on the Main Market rose to 1.39 billion units worth RM2.44 billion, up from 1.27 billion units valued at RM2.04 billion last Friday. Warrant turnover increased to 825.20 million units worth RM89.36 million from 514.93 million units worth RM62.36 million previously. The ACE Market volume also grew to 256.43 million units valued at RM114.12 million compared to 248.54 million units valued at RM95.89 million last week.
Consumer products and services counters saw 215.48 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services accounted for 204.46 million, construction for 134.90 million, and technology for 148.98 million. Other sectors included financial services with 106.13 million shares, property with 163.34 million, plantation with 21.97 million, and various others contributing to the overall market activity.