Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia closed higher today as easing tensions in West Asia lifted market sentiment and fostered a risk-on tone across regional equities, according to an analyst.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased by 9.44 points, or 0.54 percent, ending the day at 1,756.87, up from the previous close of 1,747.43. The index started the trading session 1.65 points higher at 1,749.08 and fluctuated between 1,746.80 and 1,760.30 throughout the day.
Market breadth was positive, with 785 gainers surpassing 503 losers. A total of 535 counters remained unchanged, 809 were untraded, and 10 were suspended. Turnover rose to 3.98 billion units, valued at RM3.97 billion, compared to 2.86 billion units worth RM2.59 billion the previous day.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd's director of investment strategy and country economist, Mohd Sedek Jantan, highlighted that the benchmark index gained support from banking, infrastructure, shipping, and selected energy-linked counters. An increase in participation in the FBM70 and FBM Small Cap indices also indicated an improvement in domestic market breadth. He noted that investor sentiment was bolstered by a decrease in oil prices after signs of reduced escalation risk involving Iran, with Brent crude falling below US$107 per barrel due to the potential de-escalation and easing supply disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz. Additionally, renewed strength in US equities, trading near record highs, contributed to the gradual return of foreign flows into emerging markets, including Malaysia.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's vice-president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng, commented that overall trading volume had not yet shown a significant increase despite the stronger market performance. This suggests that investors remain cautious and are not aggressively pursuing the rally at current levels. Thong advised investors to closely monitor developments in West Asia, as unresolved conflicts could affect market sentiment. He expects the FBM KLCI to trade within the 1,730-1,770 range for the remainder of the week.
In terms of stock performance, Maybank and IHH Healthcare each added two sen to RM11.22 and RM8.85, respectively. Public Bank and CIMB Group both rose by four sen to RM4.79 and RM7.93, respectively, while Tenaga Nasional remained flat at RM14.80. Among the most active stocks, Zetrix AI inched up half-a-sen to 87 sen, YTL Corp surged 22 sen to RM2.31, V.S. Industry slid one sen to 19 sen, and Manforce inched down half-a-sen to 37.5 sen.
Malaysian Pacific Industries gained RM3.90 to RM41.40, Unisem increased by 27 sen to RM3.77, YTL Power International advanced 23 sen to RM4.17, and Sunway Construction improved by 22 sen to RM7.10. On the other hand, Nestle dropped 80 sen to RM100.90, Fraser and Neave Holdings fell 46 sen to RM29.10, while Petronas Dagangan and IOI Properties declined by 12 sen each to RM20.22 and RM4.21, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased by 76.15 points to 12,963.49, the FBM Top 100 Index rose by 75.77 points to 12,807.39, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed by 58.72 points to 12,925.27. The FBM Mid 70 Index gained 138.86 points to 18,408.34, and the FBM ACE Index surged by 60.93 points to 4,662.00. By sector, the Industrial Products and Services Index shed 0.15 points to 197.52, the Plantation Index weakened by 39.23 points to 8,967.97, and the Energy Index lost 3.84 points to 831.79, while the Financial Services Index gained 101.89 points to 20,236.22.
The Main Market volume increased to 2.28 billion units valued at RM3.64 billion, up from 1.67 billion units valued at RM2.38 billion on Tuesday. Warrants turnover expanded to 1.21 billion units worth RM166.34 million, compared to 871.29 million units worth RM113.70 million previously. The ACE Market volume swelled to 497.99 million units valued at RM166.82 million, compared to 319.05 million units valued at RM96.14 million the previous day.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 289.98 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services accounted for 436.58 million, construction for 205.75 million, technology for 384.77 million, financial services for 89.28 million, property for 259.66 million, plantation for 33.42 million, real estate investment trusts for 23.43 million, closed-end fund for 66,500, energy for 228.45 million, healthcare for 78.78 million, telecommunications and media for 83.58 million, transportation and logistics for 38.52 million, utilities for 124.04 million, and business trusts for 258,000.