Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session on a higher note today, buoyed by the strengthening ringgit and improving investor sentiment. At midday, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased by 6.58 points, or 0.41 percent, to reach 1,631.15, compared to last Monday's close of 1,624.57. The benchmark index, which opened 2.50 points higher at 1,627.07, fluctuated between 1,626.59 and 1,634.35 throughout the morning trading session.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the broader market showed a slightly negative trend, with 475 decliners surpassing 429 gainers. Meanwhile, 482 counters remained unchanged, 1,302 were untraded, and 10 were suspended. The turnover for the session reached 2.14 billion units, valued at RM1.60 billion.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd noted in a statement that it expects Bank Negara Malaysia to maintain the overnight policy rate at 2.75 percent, a decision that could potentially bolster the ringgit. The local stock market is also anticipated to receive support from ongoing window-dressing activities. These factors are expected to benefit domestic-driven sectors, particularly banking, consumer, REIT, and property counters.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank rose by 29 sen to RM10.26, Public Bank added six sen to RM4.42, CIMB Group improved eight sen to RM8.03, while Tenaga Nasional fell 34 sen to RM12.98, and IHH Healthcare edged up two sen to RM8.42.
On the list of most active stocks, Capital A surged 16.5 sen to 41 sen, Genting Malaysia slipped 10 sen to RM2.25, Tanco Holdings eased three sen to RM1.13, Zetrix AI shed half-a-sen to 81 sen, and Velesto Energy inched up half-a-sen to 23 sen.
Top gainers included Nestle, which surged RM4.40 to RM116.00, Fraser and Neave climbed 88 sen to RM35.76, Allianz Malaysia firmed 36 sen to RM19.86, Kuala Lumpur Kepong advanced 20 sen to RM19.30, and Petronas Gas added 20 sen to RM17.70.
Among the top losers, Malaysian Pacific Industries declined 36 sen to RM31.00, United Plantations dropped 36 sen to RM28.02, PPB Group slipped 28 sen to RM10.30, Chin Teck Plantations eased 28 sen to RM10.72, and Gamuda gave up 20 sen to RM5.10.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 25.12 points to 12,023.99, and the FBMT 100 Index added 27.49 points to 11,817.75. Meanwhile, the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 57.78 points to 11,845.68, the FBM ACE Index declined 72.86 points to 4,759.05, and the FBM Mid 70 Index shed 49.38 points to 16,686.45.
In terms of sectors, the Financial Services Index jumped 297.38 points to 19,082.83, and the Plantation Index improved 40.56 points to 8,074.48. Conversely, the Energy Index slipped 2.43 points to 747.02, and the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 1.03 points to 164.93.