Kuala Lumpur:Bursa Malaysia saw a marginal increase at the opening on Friday, buoyed by the easing of US Treasury yields and a tempered tone from the Federal Reserve, which brought some relief to the market sentiment.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, at 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose by 1.49 points, or 0.09 per cent, to reach 1,631.85, up from Thursday's close of 1,630.36. The index had initially opened 3.51 points higher at 1,633.87. Across the broader market, gainers surpassed losers with 239 counters rising compared to 137 declining, while 270 counters remained unchanged, 2,127 were untraded, and 24 were suspended. The turnover was reported at 173.94 million shares valued at RM95.98 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's vice-president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng, noted that the index's recent decline had pushed it into oversold territory, inviting bargain hunting after a sharp correction. Despite foreign selling pressures, Thong suggested any initial rebound might be modest but highlighted opportunities to selectively accumulate fundamentally sound stocks, particularly in established banks, utilities, and semiconductor sectors.
Thong also mentioned that sustained recovery would require stronger participation from heavyweight counters and broader market improvement. He expected trading to remain cautious within the 1,625-1,640 range.
In the heavyweight category, Maybank remained unchanged at RM9.95, while Public Bank and CIMB each fell by one sen to RM4.66 and RM7.68, respectively. Tenaga Nasional rose by four sen to RM12.94, and IHH Healthcare gained one sen to RM7.71.
Among the active counters, Zetrix AI, Jaks Resources, and Genetec remained unchanged, while V.S Industry rose by one sen to 28 sen, and Kinergy Advancement dropped by half a sen to 39.5 sen.
Top gainers included Malaysian Pacific Industries, which advanced by 58 sen to RM41.70, Hengyuan Refining, which increased by 19 sen to RM3.83, and Petronas Chemicals, which climbed by 15 sen to RM4.28. UWC and MI Technovation each firmed by 10 sen to RM7.20 and RM5.36, respectively.
MISC led the decliners, falling by 14 sen to RM7.54, with LPI Capital, Hong Leong Industries, MNRB, and RHB Bank each shedding four sen to RM12.80, RM16.10, RM2.78, and RM7.43, respectively.
Regarding index performance, the FBM Mid 70 Index rose by 75.93 points to 17,434.91, the FBM Emas Index increased by 17.18 points to 12,160.71, and the FBM Top 100 Index gained 21.58 points to 11,954.73. The FBM Emas Shariah Index accumulated 34.76 points to 12,047.77, while the FBM ACE Index improved by 18.61 points to 5,501.58.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index grew by 1.10 points to 178.83, and the Energy Index increased by 9.45 points to 844.46, while the Financial Services Index fell by 26.33 points to 19,034.58 and the Plantation Index ticked up by 2.75 points to 9,029.32.