Kuala Lumpur:Bursa Malaysia concluded Tuesday's trading session on a positive note, with investors engaging in bargain hunting within the banking and healthcare sectors, despite a mixed performance across major Asian equities.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose by 5.34 points, or 0.33 percent, closing at 1,623.35, up from Monday's 1,618.01. The index fluctuated between 1,611.17 and 1,628.01 throughout the day, having opened slightly weaker at 1,616.62.
Market breadth was negative as decliners outnumbered gainers 813 to 381, with 463 counters unchanged, 1,169 untraded, and 21 suspended. Trading volume increased marginally, reaching 3.60 billion units valued at RM3.32 billion, compared to Monday's 3.36 billion units worth RM2.91 billion.
Thong Pak Leng, Vice-President of Equity Research at Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd, expressed a cautiously optimistic outlook. He highlighted that attractive valuations following recent corrections and strong domestic economic fundamentals support selective bargain hunting. Thong anticipates a gradual recovery led by banking heavyweights and robust blue chip stocks.
Thong noted that while domestic institutional support may mitigate potential downturns, ongoing foreign selling and weak market participation could restrain the recovery's pace. He projected the FBM KLCI to trend within the 1,600-1,630 range for the week, as investors adjust their positions toward attractively valued stocks.
Among major stocks, CIMB Group Holdings increased by 20 sen to RM7.50, Maybank edged up by one sen to RM9.96, and Public Bank rose by four sen to RM4.70. IHH Healthcare and RHB Bank also saw gains, rising by eight sen to RM7.98 and 11 sen to RM7.30, respectively.
Active stocks included Zetrix AI, which decreased by one sen to 6.5 sen, JAKS Resources, which fell by two sen to 15 sen, and Dagang Nexchange, slipping four sen to 47.5 sen. Conversely, VS Industry and Top Glove Corporation gained 1.5 sen to 34 sen and four sen to 85.5 sen, respectively.
Top gainers included Hong Leong Industries, which climbed 22 sen to RM16.30, and Ayer Holdings, which increased by 15 sen to RM7.70. Hong Leong Financial and Bursa Malaysia also rose, while AMMB Holdings saw a 12 sen increase to RM6.27.
Conversely, Malaysian Pacific led the losers, decreasing by RM1.86 to RM41.16, with Nestle, MI Technovation, UMS Integration, and Vitrox also experiencing losses.
The FBM Mid 70 Index fell by 104.16 points to 17,378, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped by 56.60 points to 12,074.47. The FBM ACE Index slipped by 75.35 points to 5,485.35. However, the FBM Emas Index added 2.04 points, and the FBM Top 100 Index gained 10.61 points.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index rose by 1.07 points, the Financial Services Index by 172.03 points, and the Energy Index by 0.90 points. The Plantation Index also increased by 1.22 points.
Trading volume on the Main Market rose to 2.19 billion units valued at RM2.99 billion, while the ACE Market saw an increase to 553.61 million units worth RM204.73 million. Warrant turnover decreased to 860.20 million units valued at RM116.20 million.