Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia continued its upward momentum at midday, driven by sustained buying interest in selected heavyweight stocks and a positive tone in most regional markets. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased by 7.98 points to reach 1,713.79, up from the previous close of 1,705.81.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the barometer index opened 8.08 points higher at 1,713.89 and fluctuated between 1,711.29 and 1,717.66 during the morning session. Market breadth was positive with 508 gainers, 395 decliners, 555 unchanged counters, 1,254 untraded, and nine suspended. The turnover stood at 1.48 billion shares, valued at RM1.53 billion.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd noted that buying interest could continue in the local market following positive developments in trade tensions. US President Donald Trump's indication of pulling back from planned tariff increases on several European Union economies is seen as a contributing factor. Analysts believe that resilient trading interest in construction players such as Binastra, Mitrajaya, and Inta Bina is underpinned by sizeable order books and favorable valuations. Mitrajaya's recent project wins indicate robust project pipelines, which are positive for the broader downstream value chain.
Among heavyweight stocks, Maybank increased by 12 sen to RM11.22, Public Bank added six sen to RM4.80, CIMB Group rose by eight sen to RM8.30, IHH Healthcare gained three sen to RM8.49, and Nestle added RM2.60 to RM118.20. In the active list, SMRT Holdings rose 1.5 sen to 20.5 sen, Press Metal Aluminium Holdings edged up two sen to RM7.42, IJM Corp advanced 13 sen to RM2.62, Zetrix AI added half-a-sen to 82 sen, while ACE Market debutant Guan Huat Sen Holdings decreased by two sen to 23 sen.
Top gainers included Malayan Cement, which rose 20 sen to RM7.77, Allianz Malaysia, up by 60 sen to RM22.18, United Plantations, which gained 36 sen to RM30.66, and Scientex, up 22 sen to RM3.85. Among the decliners, Fraser and Neave Holdings fell 16 sen to RM36, Kelington Group declined 10 sen to RM5.37, while Solarvest and Petronas Gas each lost eight sen to RM2.82 and RM18.72, respectively, and Mercury Industries decreased by 5.5 sen to 62 sen.
On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index increased by 56.94 points to 12,621.88, FBM Top 100 Index added 59.52 points to 12,418.56, FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 27.73 points to 12,271.22, FBM Mid 70 Index climbed 91.66 points to 17,544.27, and the FBM ACE Index gained 0.45 of-a-point to 4,919.16. Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index rose 187.96 points to 20,736.62, Energy Index gained 0.96 of-a-point to 771.64, Industrial Products and Services Index advanced 0.57 of-a-point to 175.64, and Plantation Index rose 53.07 points to 8,351.20.