Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia's key index saw a positive turnaround from the previous day's losses, closing higher on Thursday due to broad-based buying across multiple sectors. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased by 8.43 points, or 0.49%, to settle at 1,722.19, up from Wednesday's close of 1,713.76.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the benchmark index opened 3.0 points higher at 1,716.76, marking its lowest point for the day, and reached a high of 1,726.75 during the midday session. The broader market witnessed 576 gainers compared to 550 losers, with 563 counters remaining unchanged, 1,064 untraded, and 12 suspended.

The turnover declined, recording 3.68 billion units valued at RM2.80 billion, compared to 4.07 billion units valued at RM2.84 billion on Wednesday. Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's vice-president of Equity Research, Thong Pak Leng, expressed cautious optimism, citing the gradual return of foreign fund inflows as a supportive factor for the local market.

Thong noted that the FBM KLCI is expected to sustain its positive momentum, potentially advancing towards the 1,720-1,730 range by the week's end, driven by selective buying interest in fundamentally robust large-cap stocks, especially in the financial, plantation, and selected industrial sectors.

Mohd Sedek Jantan, director of investment strategy and country economist at IPPFA Sdn Bhd, highlighted that investor sentiment was bolstered by expectations of Malaysia's second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) remaining above the four percent mark, which reinforces confidence in the nation's economic expansion. He also pointed to Wall Street's overnight gains, fueled by softer US wholesale inflation and robust bank earnings, as factors strengthening expectations for potential easing of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy later this year.

Among the market heavyweights, Maybank rose by eight sen to RM11.04, while Public Bank increased by 15 sen to RM5.20. Tenaga Nasional, however, fell by eight sen to RM14.30, CIMB slipped by one sen to RM7.70, and IHH Healthcare dropped by nine sen to RM8.53.

Active stocks saw Tanco add half a sen to 32 sen, Nationgate soar 20 sen to RM1.17, VS Industry increase by 1.5 sen to 23.5 sen, SFP Tech rise by four sen to 34 sen, while HHRG fell by two sen to 14.5 sen. In terms of top gainers, Nestle increased by RM1.00 to RM93.00, United Plantations climbed 30 sen to RM35.00, Critical Holdings surged 24 sen to RM1.90, and Fraser and Neave rose by 18 sen to RM29.28.

Conversely, Malaysian Pacific Industries saw a decline of 46 sen to RM45.28, UMS Integration decreased by 28 sen to RM8.03, Hong Leong Industries shed 18 sen to RM18.42, and Kuala Lumpur Kepong lost 14 sen to RM21.66.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index increased by 18.48 points to 12,521.27, the FBM 70 Index rose by 17.72 points to 17,903.50, and the FBM ACE Index edged up by 3.36 points to 4,915.11. The FBM Emas Index gained 49.48 points to 12,699.22 and the FBMT 100 Index grew by 49.09 points to 12,529.61.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index surged by 156.43 points to 20,310.82, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up by 1.18 points to 187.93, and the Plantation Index increased by 34.81 points to 9,473.77, while the Energy Index eased by 0.27 of a point to 769.89.

Volume on the Main Market narrowed to 1.85 billion units valued at RM2.45 billion compared with 2.30 billion units valued at RM2.50 billion on Wednesday. Warrants turnover expanded to 1.21 billion units worth RM151.75 million from 1.04 billion units worth RM140.74 million previously. The ACE Market volume decreased to 615.64 million units valued at RM191.99 million, down from 721.07 million units valued at RM193.18 million the previous day.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 146.45 million shares traded on the Main Market, followed by industrial products and services with 453.34 million, construction with 91.72 million, technology with 354.99 million, financial services with 92.18 million, and property with 379.92 million. Other sectors included plantation (38.77 million), real estate investment trusts (17.95 million), closed-end fund (296,300), energy (115.37 million), healthcare (43.47 million), telecommunications and media (19.82 million), transportation and logistics (33.09 million), utilities (63.14 million), and business trusts (4,100).