Kuala Lumpur:The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) saw an uptick at midday, driven by bargain hunting in select heavyweight stocks, particularly within the banking and energy sectors.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the index increased by 2.39 points, or 0.14%, reaching 1,620.40 from the previous close of 1,618.01. The FBM KLCI had initially opened 1.39 points lower at 1,616.62 and fluctuated between 1,611.17 and 1,621.32 throughout the morning session.
In the broader market, decliners outpaced gainers, with 815 losers compared to 273 gainers. Meanwhile, 378 counters remained unchanged, 1,360 were untraded, and 21 were suspended. The market recorded a turnover of 1.99 billion units valued at RM1.49 billion.
Thong Pak Leng, vice-president of equity research at Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd, attributed the rebound to the announcement of a more favorable-than-expected Budget 2027. He noted that despite caution due to high crude oil prices, the local market remains conducive for bargain hunting, predicting the index to trend between 1,615 and 1,625 points.
Apex Securities Bhd highlighted that the FBM KLCI might trade cautiously with a slight positive bias, supported by optimism regarding Budget 2027 and the strength of selected index heavyweights. However, they cautioned that external factors like high crude oil prices, rising global bond yields, and renewed tensions in West Asia could limit valuations, especially with potential US monetary tightening.
Among heavyweight stocks, Maybank rose nine sen to RM10.04, Public Bank climbed three sen to RM4.69, CIMB increased by 14 sen to RM7.44, and IHH Healthcare gained nine sen to RM7.99. Conversely, Tenaga Nasional fell by four sen to RM13.
In active trading, JAKS Resources dropped 1.5 sen to 15.5 sen, Zetrix AI fell half a sen to 7.0 sen, and Dagang Nexchange decreased by 3.0 sen to 48.5 sen. Meanwhile, Top Glove and VS Industry saw gains of 2.5 sen to 84 sen and half a sen to 33 sen, respectively.
Kuala Lumpur Kepong and Hengyuan Refining were among the top gainers, increasing by 20 sen to RM20.76 and 13 sen to RM3.68, respectively. Bursa Malaysia, RHB Bank, and AMMB Holdings each rose by 12 sen, reaching RM8.09, RM7.31, and RM6.27, respectively.
On the decliners' side, Malaysian Pacific Industries dropped RM2.04 to RM40.98, Nestle decreased by RM1.02 to RM90.08, and MI Technovation lost 63 sen to RM6.39. Vitrox Corporation and UMS Integration both fell by 50 sen, with values at RM10.74 and RM8.40, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index decreased by 172.04 points to 17,310.12, the FBM Emas Index fell 26.66 points to 12,079.04, and the FBM Top 100 Index declined 17.46 points to 11,870.39. The FBM Emas Shariah Index narrowed by 96.52 points to 12,034.55, and the FBM ACE Index dropped 109.00 points to 5,451.70.
In sector-specific movements, the Industrial Products and Services Index contracted by 1.62 points to 179.15, and the Plantation Index weakened by 16.88 points to 8,795.02. Conversely, the Energy Index gained 0.69 of a point to 834.85, while the Financial Services Index surged 172.43 points to 18,766.57.