Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia ended higher on Wednesday as investors engaged in bargain hunting following a recent sell-off, ahead of the Bank Negara Malaysia's (BNM) overnight policy rate (OPR) decision scheduled for Thursday. At the close of trading, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased by 8.20 points to 1,708.74, in comparison to the previous day's closing of 1,700.54.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the benchmark index opened marginally higher at 1,700.96 and experienced fluctuations throughout the trading day, ranging between 1,695.89 and 1,709.71. On the broader market, there were 746 losers, surpassing 424 gainers, with 554 counters unchanged, 1,048 untraded, and 17 suspended. The day's turnover declined to 4.20 billion units valued at RM3.52 billion from the preceding day's 5.52 billion units valued at RM4.42 billion.
The BNM Monetary Policy Committee is anticipated to meet tomorrow, with market consensus suggesting that the OPR will remain steady at 2.75 percent for the remainder of 2026. Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's vice-president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng, noted that bargain hunting emerged in banking and commodity-related heavyweights following the recent strong sell-off. He pointed out that major indices across the region extended their losses due to negative cues from global markets overnight, with rising bond yields continuing to pressure technology and growth stocks. Thong added that investors would be closely monitoring BNM's monetary policy decision and the forthcoming US employment data for further insights into the interest-rate outlook.
In looking ahead, Thong expects the FBM KLCI to remain in consolidation mode as investors continue to evaluate developments in West Asia and the global interest rate trajectory. IPPFA Sdn Bhd's director of investment strategy and country economist, Mohd Sedek Jantan, highlighted that the benchmark index's gains were supported by increases in oil-related and plantation stocks. He attributed the rise in crude oil prices to renewed US airstrikes on Iran, which in turn boosted demand for commodity-linked counters.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank saw an increase of four sen to RM10.60, and Public Bank rose by two sen to RM4.93. Conversely, CIMB Group eased by one sen to RM7.84, Tenaga Nasional fell by 12 sen to RM13.64, and IHH Healthcare slipped by seven sen to RM8.08. On the most active list, Zetrix AI fell by 4.5 sen to 22 sen, Focus Dynamics remained flat at half a sen, Ingenieur Gudang edged up by half a sen to four sen, Ni Hsin Group increased by 2.5 sen to 26.5 sen, and Velesto Energy rose by 1.5 sen to 24.5 sen.
Among the top gainers, Kuala Lumpur Kepong jumped by 86 sen to RM22.70, United Plantations climbed by 74 sen to RM32.78, Hengyuan Refining advanced by 41 sen to RM2.94, Sarawak Oil Palms garnered 40 sen to RM5.96, and Perak Corporation soared by 29 sen to 76 sen. Conversely, among the top losers, Nestle slid by RM2.18 to RM96.52, Fraser and Neave Holdings dipped by 54 sen to RM24.74, Malaysian Pacific Industries slipped by 48 sen to RM39.78, Kelington Group lost 27 sen to RM8.57, and Hong Leong Industries shaved off 26 sen to RM17.58.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose by 21.82 points to 12,626.83, the FBMT 100 Index climbed by 21.60 points to 12,435.44, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 18.37 points to 12,410.35. Meanwhile, the FBM 70 Index decreased by 131.92 points to 17,784.57, and the FBM ACE Index slipped by 24.76 points to 5,161.72. Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index increased by 40.30 points to 20,078.77, the Plantation Index surged by 212.18 points to 9,527.47, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 2.19 points to 186.78, and the Energy Index advanced by 12.11 points to 801.95.
The Main Market volume dwindled to 2.67 billion units valued at RM3.20 billion compared to the previous day's 3.88 billion units valued at RM4.06 billion. Warrants turnover dropped to 942.18 million units worth RM133.94 million versus 1.03 billion units worth RM143.05 million previously. The ACE Market volume trimmed to 592.31 million units valued at RM176.71 million from the prior day's 601.61 million units valued at RM210.03 million.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 281.56 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services recorded 394.96 million, construction saw 127.79 million, technology witnessed 1.11 billion, financial services had 84.31 million, property registered 162.33 million, plantation noted 71.73 million, real estate investment trusts accounted for 8.65 million, closed-end fund recorded 93,400, energy observed 212.07 million, healthcare registered 72.20 million, telecommunications and media accounted for 22.92 million, transportation and logistics noted 55.27 million, utilities recorded 65.83 million, and business trusts observed 54,000.