Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia closed higher on Friday, buoyed by a rebound in financial services stocks that positively influenced market sentiment, in tandem with regional market gains. At the close of the day, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased by 13.85 points, or 0.83%, reaching 1,691.49, up from Thursday's close of 1,677.64.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the benchmark index started the day 5.14 points higher at 1,682.78, marking its intraday low, and peaked at 1,696.25 during midday trading. The market saw a positive breadth with 648 gainers against 443 losers, while 581 counters remained unchanged, 1,044 were untraded, and 25 were suspended. Turnover rose to 2.85 billion units valued at RM2.25 billion, from Wednesday's 2.64 billion units valued at RM2.19 billion.
Mohd Sedek Jantan, director of investment strategy and country economist at IPPFA Sdn Bhd, noted that Bank Negara Malaysia's decision to maintain the overnight policy rate (OPR) at 2.75% provided policy certainty for investors and businesses amid global energy price and operating cost concerns. He further mentioned that foreign investors became net buyers for the second consecutive trading session, indicating improving confidence in Malaysian equities. This confidence is supported by the country's robust macroeconomic fundamentals, stable monetary policy, and appealing market valuations.
Market sentiment was further lifted as worries over geopolitical tensions eased following the stabilization of oil prices towards the end of a volatile week. Brent crude traded near US$76 per barrel, recovering after a more than 2% decline in the previous session, amidst ongoing technical negotiations between the United States and Iran despite renewed conflicts disrupting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Among the market heavyweights, Maybank, Public Bank, and CIMB each gained four sen to RM10.90, RM4.89, and RM7.64, respectively. IHH Healthcare advanced 12 sen to RM8.44, while Tenaga Nasional remained flat at RM14.30. Active stocks included Tanco, which rose half a sen to 19.5 sen, and Zetrix AI, which added 2.5 sen to 75 sen.
Top gainers included Fraser and Neave, which increased by 78 sen to RM29.70, and Nestle, which climbed 50 sen to RM91.80. Conversely, Allianz Malaysia led the losers, falling 28 sen to RM20.84.
Broader indices also experienced gains, with the FBM Emas Index rising 83.33 points to 12,523.81, and the FBMT 100 Index climbing 86.23 points to 12,354.33. In sectoral performance, the Financial Services Index jumped 93.58 points to 19,921.66, while the Plantation Index rose 125.33 points to 9,202.31.
The Main Market volume increased to 1.31 billion units valued at RM1.93 billion, compared to 1.09 billion units valued at RM1.83 billion on Thursday. However, the ACE Market volume saw a decrease to 491.14 million units valued at RM177.02 million, down from 520.91 million units valued at RM219.12 million the previous day.