Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia closed marginally higher on Monday, in tandem with the positive performance of regional peers, said an analyst. At 5 pm, the FBM KLCI added 1.90 points to end at 1,610.95, compared with last Friday’s close. The benchmark index opened 0.70 of a point higher at 1,609.75, and moved between 1,606.76 and 1,613.53 throughout the day.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the market breadth was negative with decliners outnumbering gainers 645 to 459, while 487 counters were unchanged, 1,057 untraded, and 124 suspended. Turnover narrowed to 3.77 billion units worth RM2.47 billion, from 4.16 billion units worth RM3.17 billion on Friday. Rakuten Trade vice-president Thong Pak Leng noted that key regional indices ended higher with strong buying seen in electric vehicle (EV) and technology stocks.
On the local front, Thong mentioned that the market had been showing healthier signs of participation, suggesting sentiment is slowly turning more upbeat. Despite remaining in consolidation mode, the benchmark index appears to be building strength, underpinned by improving confidence. ‘If this momentum continues, it could pave the way for an advance toward 1,620 points, reinforcing the cautiously optimistic outlook. Hence, we anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within the range of 1,590-1,620 for the week,’ Thong told Bernama.
Among the heavyweight stocks, CIMB bounced 12 sen to RM7.37, Axiata rallied seven sen to RM2.67, and MRDIY rose five sen to RM1.67. CelcomDigi gained four sen to RM3.70, and IHH Healthcare added 10 sen to RM7.55. In active trade, EA Holdings, MTouche, and NexG were flat at half a sen, 6.5 sen, and 9.5 sen, respectively. Pharmaniaga added two sen to 28.5 sen, Tanco dropped two sen to 88 sen, and Velesto shaved half a sen to 24 sen. CBH Engineering gained three sen to 47 sen.
Top gainers included Nestle hiking RM1.06 to RM97.10; Plenitude soaring 36 sen to RM2.22; Bintulu Port rising 35 sen to RM5.85; Country View growing 22 sen to RM3.0; and Hong Leong Finance Group gaining 18 sen to RM17.10. Among the top losers, Batu Kawan shed 24 sen to RM18.80; Malayan Cement lost 20 sen to RM6.95; Petronas Chemicals fell 20 sen to RM4.35; and MPI slid 20 sen to RM29.10. Kelington Group trimmed 13 sen to RM5.48, and PPB Group dropped 12 sen to RM5.48.
On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index shed five points to 11,988.44, the FBMT 100 Index trimmed 1.08 points to 11,723.96, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index lost 38.83 points to 12,009.64. The FBM 70 Index fell 66.50 points to 16,783.85, and the FBM ACE Index dropped 10.60 points to 5,189.86.
By sector, the Industrial Products and Services Index slid 2.01 points to 171.75 and the Energy Index fell 4.26 points to 778.26, but the Financial Services Index leapt 107.04 points to 18,263.88. The Plantation Index grew 8.92 points to 7,771.57. The Main Market volume shrank to 1.68 billion units worth RM2.08 billion, from 1.97 billion units valued at RM2.72 billion on Friday. Warrant turnover dropped to 1.26 billion units valued at RM191.47 million, from 1.44 billion units worth RM208.70 million previously. The ACE Market volume strengthened to 815.25 million shares worth RM195.92 million, from 737.39 million shares worth RM230.36 million on Friday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 393.77 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (279.58 million), construction (105.61 million), technology (189.67 million), financial services (68.73 million), property (172.89 million), plantation (21.16 million), REITs (27.46 million), closed/fund (423,500), energy (140.84 million), healthcare (146.11 million), telecommunications and media (36.53 million), transportation and logistics (50.60 million), utilities (54.73 million), and business trusts (748,900).