Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia's benchmark index extended its rally, closing at an intraday high of 1,771.25, marking a new multi-year high with a 1.55% increase, driven by sustained buying interest in blue-chip stocks. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) saw a significant rise of 27.18 points from Monday's close of 1,744.07, surpassing its previous peak of 1,769.16 recorded on October 8, 2018.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's vice-president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng, commented on the index's notable rally, highlighting its current trading levels not witnessed since 2018. He attributed this to consistent foreign buying and broad-based participation in blue-chip counters. Thong noted the index's decisive breakthrough above the 1,720-1,725 zone, indicating an improvement in market sentiment. He projected that the FBM KLCI would trend within the 1,750-1,780 range for the rest of the week.
Meanwhile, IPPFA Sdn Bhd's director of investment strategy and country economist, Mohd Sedek Jantan, acknowledged that the FBM KLCI's year-to-date gains now exceed five percent, sparking concerns about the rally's sustainability. He remarked that the market's tone remains constructive, with selective buying and rotation rather than indiscriminate risk-taking. From a technical perspective, he noted the index's break above the 1,760 level, marking a breach of near-term tactical resistance, placing the next resistance level around 1,780.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank added 26 sen to RM11.76, Public Bank increased by 13 sen to RM5.00, CIMB advanced 33 sen to RM8.95, Tenaga Nasional rose by 14 sen to RM14.12, and IHH Healthcare gained five sen to RM8.71. On the most active list, Borneo Oil remained unchanged at half-a-sen, Capital A decreased by 1.5 sen to 57.5 sen, Tanco rose by two sen to RM1.33, SP Setia increased by 2.5 sen to 98 sen, and Zetrix AI added half-a-sen to 82 sen.
Top gainers included Malaysian Pacific Industries, which increased by 64 sen to RM33.22, Hong Leong Bank added 58 sen to RM25.08, Hong Leong Financial rose by 56 sen to RM21.86, and Malayan Cement increased by 29 sen to RM8.04. Among the top decliners, Nestle decreased by 40 sen to RM115.60, Kuala Lumpur Kepong fell by 20 sen to RM19.82, Bintulu Port slid by 15 sen to RM5.35, while Fraser and Neave and IGB REIT each declined by 14 sen to RM36.00 and RM2.85, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index soared by 163.91 points to 12,764.08, the FBM Emas Index gained 155.55 points to 12,954.70, the FBM Mid 70 Index rose by 83.24 points to 17,714.07, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased by 87.82 points to 12,488.21, while the FBM ACE Index decreased by 13.13 points to 4,835.58. Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index leapt by 516.43 points to 21,713.66, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up by 2.65 points to 179.93, and the Energy Index climbed by 3.65 points to 768.51, while the Plantation Index declined by 7.08 points to 8,438.06.
The Main Market volume expanded to 2.22 billion units worth RM4.20 billion from Monday's 2.06 billion units worth RM3.76 billion. Warrants turnover decreased to 919.73 million units worth RM112.26 million from 999.45 million units worth RM132.75 million previously. The ACE Market volume improved to 441.14 million units worth RM145.30 million from 439.30 million units worth RM174.57 million. Consumer products and services counters accounted for 432.22 million shares traded on the Main Market, with industrial products and services at 477.33 million, construction at 217.36 million, technology at 172.02 million, financial services at 222.94 million, and other sectors contributing to the overall trading volume.