Kuala Lumpur:Bursa Malaysia commenced trading on a positive note on Monday, driven by favorable sentiment after the announcement of Budget 2027 and overnight gains on Wall Street. The boost in technology stocks and a decrease in oil prices helped counterbalance weak US consumer sentiment.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased by 5.10 points, or 0.31 percent, reaching 1,613.55 at 9.15 am, up from the previous close of 1,608.45. The index started the day 3.34 points higher at 1,611.03. Across the broader market, gainers exceeded losers with 251 to 200, while 383 counters remained unchanged, 1,993 were untraded, and 12 were suspended. The turnover was recorded at 340.29 million units valued at RM181.54 million.
Hong Leong Investment Bank highlighted that Budget 2027, characterized as rakyat-friendly, aims to balance social protection, growth initiatives, and fiscal consolidation. The fiscal deficit is projected to narrow to 3.3 percent of GDP from 3.6 percent in 2026. The consumer and property sectors are expected to benefit significantly, whereas the oil and gas and labor-intensive sectors might face cost pressures due to the minimum wage increase set for June 2027.
The investment bank further noted that the budget is more focused on Main Street than Malaysia's Wall Street, predicting a muted market reaction. They anticipate that geopolitical tensions, elevated bond yields, energy prices, and election uncertainty will maintain risk premiums, keeping the market range-bound.
In terms of market performance, major players such as Maybank rose nine sen to RM9.90, Public Bank increased by five sen to RM4.62, and both CIMB and Tenaga Nasional gained six sen each, reaching RM7.32 and RM12.94, respectively. In contrast, IHH Healthcare saw a decline of three sen to RM7.87.
Active trading saw Zetrix AI remain steady at 8.5 sen, VS Industry rise 1.5 sen to 36 sen, and Nationgate increase by five sen to RM2.16. However, Genting dropped 26 sen to RM1.62, and Dagang NeXchange decreased by half a sen to 51.5 sen. Among the top gainers were Vitrox, which added 16 sen to RM11.16, and Azam Jaya, which rose 15 sen to RM1.10. Hong Leong Bank and Hong Leong Financial each gained 12 sen to RM21.60 and RM17.42, respectively, while Malayan Cement advanced 10 sen to RM5.65.
Conversely, Kuala Lumpur Kepong fell 28 sen to RM20.34, AME REIT slipped 10 sen to RM1.52, and both Genting Malaysia and Mulpha International eased nine sen each to RM1.40 and RM2.65, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index decreased by 4.10 points to 17,679.01, while the FBM Emas Index improved by 27.51 points to 12,126.34. The FBM Top 100 Index also rose by 27.01 points to 11,898.41, the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 10.14 points to 12,139.93, and the FBM ACE Index edged up 4.31 points to 5,658.88. Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index surged by 141.99 points to 18,566.81, the Industrial Products and Services Index increased slightly by 0.16 of a point to 180.91, and the Energy Index gained 1.24 points to 839.81, while the Plantation Index fell 38.09 points to 8,852.17.