Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia saw an upward trend in the morning session, echoing the positive performance of regional markets and buoyed by optimism after Wall Street's robust overnight gains. At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased by 10.84 points, or 0.67 percent, reaching 1,636.23 compared to the previous close of 1,625.39.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the index initially opened 2.83 points lower at 1,622.56, fluctuating between 1,622.03 and 1,636.50 during the morning. The market saw positive breadth, with 558 gainers surpassing 360 decliners. Meanwhile, 485 counters remained unchanged, 1,365 were untraded, and 16 were suspended. Turnover reached 1.69 billion units valued at RM1.06 billion.
Apex Securities Bhd noted that the FBM KLCI is anticipated to trade with an upward tendency, driven by improved global liquidity sentiment following the United States Federal Reserve's rate cut and a stable US equity market. The firm highlighted a positive outlook on selected power-ancillary and renewable energy stocks, supported by structural trends from the ongoing energy transition. These themes are expected to stay resilient despite global trade challenges and will likely continue to attract interest due to their steady earnings potential.
Among heavyweight stocks, Maybank increased by eight sen to RM10.34, Public Bank rose by four sen to RM4.46, CIMB Group gained four sen to RM7.92, Tenaga Nasional climbed 20 sen to RM12.94, and IHH Healthcare advanced 11 sen to RM8.51.
On the active list, Velesto Energy improved by half-a-sen to 28 sen, Perak Transit added 3.5 sen to 32 sen, V.S. Industry gained two sen to 54 sen, Tanco Holdings rose three sen to RM1.18, while Borneo Oil remained flat at half-a-sen.
Top gainers included Petronas Gas, which jumped 34 sen to RM17.62, Hong Leong Bank added 20 sen to RM21.80, Bintulu Port climbed 14 sen to RM5.49, Sarawak Oil Palms rose 13 sen to RM3.88, and Alliance Bank advanced 12 sen to RM4.75.
Among the top decliners, Nestle decreased by 60 sen to RM113.60, Dutch Lady fell 50 sen to RM29.60, Batu Kawan eased 14 sen to RM19.22, Fraser and Neave shed 12 sen to RM34.88, and Ajinomoto declined 10 sen to RM13.68.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 75.00 points to 12,058.66, the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 63.69 points to 11,886.45, the FBMT 100 Index gained 72.63 points to 11,849.50, the FBM 70 Index increased 76.38 points to 16,706.88, and the FBM ACE Index added 29.51 points to 4,741.57.
By sector, the Financial Services Index jumped 86.60 points to 19,239.08, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.97 of-a-point to 168.51, the Energy Index increased 5.92 points to 768.72, and the Plantation Index improved 16.40 points to 8,150.58.