Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia's benchmark index witnessed an upward trend on Thursday morning, primarily driven by a surge in technology and construction stocks, reflecting similar gains observed on Wall Street.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, at 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) climbed 4.08 points to reach 1,627.97. This rise followed an opening of 4.55 points higher at 1,628.44, compared to Wednesday's closing of 1,623.89. Market activity showed a positive breadth with 312 gainers, 90 decliners, and 235 counters remaining unchanged. Additionally, 2,149 stocks were untraded, and 10 remained suspended, with a turnover amounting to 179.84 million shares valued at RM98.42 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd noted that Wall Street's rebound after a four-day tech-driven decline prompted investors to realign their positions ahead of upcoming corporate earnings. The brokerage foresees the FBM KLCI maintaining its recovery momentum, fueled by the technology sector and renewed interest in construction stocks. The firm emphasized that these sectors present discounted valuations with solid earnings prospects, supported by substantial infrastructure projects and data center investments in the country.
In the heavyweight category, Maybank increased by four sen to RM9.97, Public Bank added one sen to RM4.29, and Tenaga Nasional rose by two sen to RM13.20, while CIMB decreased by two sen to RM7.55. IHH Healthcare remained steady at RM8.25.
Among the most active stocks, Malayan United Industries and MMAG each gained half-a-sen, reaching 6.5 sen and 8.5 sen, respectively, while Perak Transit increased by 1.5 sen to 30 sen. AHB dropped by half-a-sen to 3.0 sen, and Aquawalk remained unchanged at 38 sen.
Top gainers included BLD Plantation, which saw an increase of RM1.02 to RM13.80, United Plantations rising by 38 sen to RM28.38, Kuala Lumpur Kepong climbing 30 sen to RM21.10, and Kelington gaining 17 sen to RM5.33.
Conversely, among the top losers, Nestle decreased by 10 sen to RM112.20, Hume Cement fell by seven sen to RM3.22, and both Amway and AEON Credit dropped by four sen to RM4.89 and RM1.15, respectively.
On the index board, the FBMT 100 Index advanced 39.72 points to 11,839.47, the FBM Emas Index rose by 41.85 points to 12,067.15, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased by 51.55 points to 12,065.85. The FBM ACE Index gained 30.21 points reaching 4,952.96, while the FBM Mid 70 Index surged by 100.44 points to 16,912.84.
In sectoral performance, the Financial Services Index rose by 20.27 points to 18,464.34, the Plantation Index climbed by 63.46 points to 8,288.99, the Energy Index increased by 0.87 of a point to 759.56, and the Industrial Products and Services Index rose by 0.49 of a point to 165.82.