Kuala lumpur: Late buying of banking stocks propelled Bursa Malaysia to close at its intraday high, with the key index climbing 0.48 per cent, mirroring improved regional sentiment. At the close of trading, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased by 7.28 points to reach 1,536.52, compared to the previous close of 1,529.24. The index had opened 2.19 points higher at 1,531.43, dipping to its lowest level at 1,523.25 in early trading.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the market showed positive breadth, with 514 gainers surpassing 406 decliners. In total, 540 counters remained unchanged, while 958 were not traded and 10 were suspended. The turnover grew to 3.25 billion shares valued at RM2.45 billion, in contrast to 2.95 billion shares worth RM1.99 billion recorded on the previous day.
UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd’s head of investment research, Mohd Sedek Jantan, commented that the FBMKLCI’s rise marked the end of a three-day losing streak, driven by a recovery in banking stocks. He noted that consumer stocks maintained their upward trend, with Bank Negara Malaysia’s rate cut expected to positively impact the consumer sector by reducing borrowing costs and enhancing discretionary spending. Financial equities are likely to gain from the monetary policy easing, as reduced borrowing costs generally boost credit demand, improve loan quality, and support economic activities, thereby improving the earnings outlook for the banking sector.
However, Mohd Sedek Jantan also pointed out that foreign investors remained net sellers in the local capital market, indicating ongoing caution. Despite the policy shift potentially boosting investor sentiment, concerns over trade fragmentation and external challenges continue to restrain risk appetite.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd’s equity research vice-president, Thong Pak Leng, highlighted external challenges such as the expansion of US tariffs and the ongoing Middle East tensions as significant obstacles for the local benchmark index. He expressed confidence that governments would reach agreements to mitigate the effects of US President Donald Trump’s expanded tariff measures. He added that reaching the 1,530 threshold was an important technical milestone for the index, and he expects the FBM KLCI to trend within the 1,530-1,550 range towards the weekend.
In the consumer sector, Nestle led with a gain of 40 sen to RM78.80, followed by Hong Leong Industries, which increased by 26 sen to RM13.66. Among other heavyweight counters, Maybank rose by three sen to RM9.73, Public Bank added four sen to RM4.30, and CIMB climbed 13 sen to RM6.70. However, Tenaga Nasional dropped four sen to RM13.96, and IHH Healthcare decreased by two sen to RM6.65.
In active trading, Zetrix AI advanced 2.5 sen to 98 sen, while Sapura Energy, Eco-Shop, and NexG remained unchanged at four sen, RM1.27, and 44.5 sen, respectively. Tanco increased by one sen to 90 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 44.11 points to 11,528.33, the FBMT 100 Index gained 43.59 points to 11,293.13, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 21.85 points to 11,508.74. The FBM 70 Index climbed 20.66 points to 16,655.60, and the FBM ACE Index increased by 19.94 points to 4,516.57.
By sector, the Financial Services Index surged 116.89 points to 17,622.38, the Industrial Products and Services Index rose 0.32 points to 153.54, while the Plantation Index fell 17.82 points to 7,461.26. The Energy Index edged down 0.28 points to 736.62.
The Main Market volume slightly increased to 1.32 billion units worth RM2.17 billion from 1.31 billion units valued at RM1.74 billion on the previous day. Warrant turnover rose to 1.69 billion units valued at RM190.86 million from 1.25 billion units worth RM134.91 million previously. The ACE Market volume narrowed to 241.47 million units valued at RM86.17 million, compared to 382.69 million units worth RM116.98 million the day before.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 230.09 million shares traded on the Main Market; industrial products and services (177.06 million), construction (127.04 million), technology (213.35 million), financial services (75.64 million), property (189.39 million), plantation (18.59 million), REITs (28.44 million), energy (98.31 million), healthcare (49.10 million), telecommunications and media (32.35 million), transportation and logistics (25.44 million), utilities (57.80 million), and business trusts (102,200).