Kuala Lumpur:Bursa Malaysia extended its positive performance from last week, driven by increased interest in banking stocks following supportive measures in Budget 2027. These measures focus on enhancing lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), housing financing, and investment-driven credit growth.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) closed at 1,618.01, marking an increase of 9.56 points or 0.59 percent from the previous close of 1,608.45. The benchmark index opened 3.34 points higher at 1,611.03 and fluctuated between 1,608.91 and 1,619.30 throughout the trading session.
Market activity saw more losers than gainers, with 778 decliners compared to 344 advancers. Additionally, 520 counters remained unchanged, 1,185 were untraded, and 12 were suspended. Turnover slightly increased to 3.36 billion units worth RM2.91 billion, up from 3.33 billion units worth RM2.90 billion in the previous session.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's vice-president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng, commented that the recent budget presentation has improved policy clarity, reducing uncertainty for investors and allowing for a better assessment of sectoral outlooks. While the budget’s benefits might take time to manifest, its focus on domestic consumption, infrastructure, and investment is expected to bolster market sentiment.
Thong Pak Leng anticipates that selective bargain hunting will support a gradual market recovery, especially within banking and other fundamentally sound blue-chip stocks. However, challenges such as persistent foreign selling, high bond yields, and geopolitical uncertainties may limit gains. He expects the FBM KLCI to trade within the 1,600-1,630 range, with a positive bias.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank increased by 14 sen to RM9.95, Public Bank rose by nine sen to RM4.66, CIMB gained four sen to RM7.30, and Tenaga Nasional added 16 sen to RM13.04, while IHH Healthcare remained unchanged at RM7.90.
In active trading, Zetrix AI and JAKS Resources each fell by one sen to 7.5 sen and 17 sen, respectively. VS Industry dropped two sen to 32.5 sen, and Top Glove declined by three sen to 81.5 sen. Nationgate, however, increased by 16 sen to RM2.27.
Top gainers included Nestle, which rose by 94 sen to RM91.10, MISC, which increased by 47 sen to RM8.06, and Vitrox and MI Technovation, each up 24 sen to RM11.24 and RM7.02, respectively. Hong Leong Financial climbed 16 sen to RM17.46.
Among the top losers, Malaysian Pacific decreased by RM1.06 to RM43.02, United Plantations fell by 48 sen to RM30.22, Genting dropped 43 sen to RM1.45, Genting Malaysia shed 26 sen to RM1.23, and YTL Power was down 20 sen to RM5.50. Genting Malaysia's significant share price drop led to a suspension of intraday short-selling (IDSS) until the next trading day at 8.30 am, as it fell more than 15 percent or 15 sen from the reference price.