Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia opened on a positive note Thursday as investors positioned themselves for potential pre-Merdeka buying interest ahead of the upcoming National Day celebrations. At 9.02 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose by 3.66 points to 1,752.20, up from Wednesday's close of 1,748.54. The benchmark index started the day 4.12 points higher at 1,752.66, showing a promising start to the trading day.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, market breadth was positive with gainers outnumbering losers 187 to 102. A total of 271 counters remained unchanged, while 2,313 were untraded and 124 were suspended. The turnover was recorded at 111.40 million shares worth RM57.82 million. Apex Securities Bhd noted that the FBM KLCI is expected to maintain its upward momentum, potentially driven by pre-Merdeka buying interest. The ongoing earnings season remains a key factor, influencing investors to remain selective, with corporate results and recent developments continuing to dictate individual stock performances.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's vice-president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng, highlighted that upcoming earnings in the banking sector are expected to support the local market. He projected steady performance from banks and anticipated the index to trend within the 1,745-1,755 range for the day. Among the heavyweights, Maybank saw an addition of four sen to RM10.76, while Public Bank and CIMB Group advanced one sen each to RM5.16 and RM8.09, respectively. Tenaga Nasional gained eight sen to RM14.38, though IHH Healthcare fell by three sen to RM8.20.
On the most active list, MAG, Ingenieur Gudang, and Nexgram each decreased by half a sen to 15.5 sen, four sen, and 4.5 sen, respectively. Supermax increased by 3.5 sen to 34.5 sen, and Ni Hsin was up by one sen to 19 sen. Top gainers included Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia, which rose 14 sen to RM15, and BP Plastics, which advanced seven sen to 83 sen. Thong Guan Industries and Telekom Malaysia both improved by six sen to RM1.67 and RM7.84, respectively, while AWC gained five sen to 50.5 sen.
Among the top losers, United Plantations fell by 34 sen to RM31.18. Kumpulan Fima decreased by 12 sen to RM2.73, Master-Pack dropped 10 sen to RM1.60, YTL Power International edged down five sen to RM5.85, and Ranhill Utilities slipped four sen to RM2.50. The broader indices saw the FBM 70 Index climb 32.02 points to 18,260.25, the FBM Emas Shariah Index increase by 34.06 points to 12,701.01, and the FBM Emas Index improve by 27.56 points to 12,943.43. The FBM Top 100 Index gained 25.56 points to 12,755.81, although the FBM ACE Index saw a slight decrease of 1.56 points to 5,351.39.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index jumped by 46.01 points to 20,501.77, while the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up by 0.50 points to 188.50. The Plantation Index increased by 2.02 points to 9,426.57, and the Energy Index rose by 2.96 points to 778.10.