Bursa malaysia: Bursa Malaysia experienced a rebound at midday, driven by positive sentiment surrounding Malaysia's domestic fundamentals.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) edged up 0.58 points to reach 1,737.29, compared to the previous day's close of 1,736.71. The index opened slightly higher at 1,736.08 and fluctuated within the range of 1,733.13 to 1,738.30 throughout the morning session.
Despite the uptick in the benchmark index, the broader market witnessed a negative trend. The number of losers surpassed gainers with 627 counters declining against 455 advancing, while 516 remained unchanged. Additionally, 1,274 counters were untraded and 47 were suspended. The market turnover recorded was 2.38 billion units valued at RM1.61 billion.
Yesterday, the Department of Statistics Malaysia reported robust trade performance for July 2026, with a 37.3 per cent growth to RM364.7 billion compared to the previous year. Exports increased by 38.0 per cent to RM193.6 billion, and imports rose by 36.4 per cent to RM171.1 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of RM22.5 billion, which marked a 51.9 per cent increase.
Apex Securities Bhd noted that the FBM KLCI is anticipated to maintain a cautiously positive bias. However, the gains might be moderated by elevated global bond yields and ongoing geopolitical risks. The firm added that higher crude oil prices could bolster oil and gas-related counters, though sustained increases might eventually contribute to higher input costs and inflationary pressures. On a global scale, the near-term outlook remains selective and defensive.
Among the key performers, Maybank rose by four sen to RM10.62, while Public Bank remained steady at RM5.12. CIMB Group slipped by three sen to RM7.95, Tenaga Nasional declined by 10 sen to RM14.40, and IHH Healthcare decreased by two sen to RM8.32. On the active list, NexG increased by half a sen to 33.5 sen, AirAsia dropped by seven sen to 81.5 sen, and Zetrix AI remained unchanged at 65 sen. Meanwhile, JCY International gained 3.5 sen to 56.5 sen, and YTL Corporation added two sen to RM2.45.
Leading gainers included PPB Group and United Plantations, both rising by 32 sen to RM10.22 and RM32.20, respectively. Fraser and Neave Holdings climbed 30 sen to RM26.50, Kuala Lumpur Kepong advanced 20 sen to RM21.64, and YTL Power International increased by 19 sen to RM5.35.
On the other hand, among the top losers, Malaysian Pacific Industries fell RM2.10 to RM43.20, Nestle decreased RM1.50 to RM130.30, Kelington Group dropped 30 sen to RM8.70, Vitrox Corporation shed 23 sen to RM9.03, and Kluang Rubber Co declined 20 sen to RM6.44.
In terms of indices, the FBM 70 Index decreased by 30.01 points to 18,144.10, the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell by 10.61 points to 12,647.96, the FBM Emas Index declined by 1.89 points to 12,835.73, the FBM Top 100 Index lost 2.09 points to 12,654.13, and the FBM ACE Index was down by 16.41 points to 5,312.35. Sector-wise, the Plantation Index rose by 76.38 points to 9,404.81, the Energy Index increased by 3.05 points to 778.19, and the Financial Services Index added 5.52 points to 20,281.00, whereas the Industrial Products and Services Index slipped by 0.66 of a point to 186.89.