Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia's key index maintained its upward trajectory at mid-afternoon on Monday, driven by consistent bargain hunting in selected heavyweight counters, notably in the financial services sector.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased by 11.61 points to reach 1,712.63, compared to last Friday's closing figure of 1,701.02. The index had opened the day with a 2.63-point rise at 1,703.65.
Despite the positive movement of the key index, market breadth remained negative, with 519 counters declining and 436 gaining, while 511 remained unchanged. Additionally, 1,307 counters were untraded, and 53 were suspended. The turnover was recorded at 1.81 billion units with a value of RM1.16 billion.
In the heavyweight category, CIMB Group saw an increase of 11 sen, reaching RM7.79. Public Bank rose by five sen to RM5.16, Tenaga Nasional climbed 14 sen to RM14.50, Maybank advanced six sen to RM10.84, and Telekom Malaysia was up by 15 sen to RM7.70.
For active stocks, SNS Network Technology increased by 5.5 sen to 57 sen, AIMAX remained unchanged at one sen, while Tanco Holdings decreased by 1.5 sen to 24.5 sen. VS Industry and Zetrix both saw a decline of one sen, closing at 23.5 sen and 69.0 sen, respectively.
Among the top gainers, Nestle rose by 82 sen to RM91.44, Malaysian Pacific Industries went up by 72 sen to RM45.80, Petronas Gas added 26 sen to RM17.66, Far East increased by 25 sen to RM4.10, and Hong Leong Industries climbed 24 sen to RM18.06.
Conversely, Fraser and Neave led the list of losers, with a decrease of 40 sen to RM27.90. United Plantations fell by 38 sen to RM33.04, Ideal Capital dropped by 24 sen to RM3.75, BLD Plantation eased by 20 sen to RM14.80, and Dutch Lady Milk Industries decreased by 18 sen to RM31.82.
In the broader market indices, the FBM Emas Index gained 67.22 points to 12,656.77, and the FBM Top 100 Index added 72.85 points to 12,484.81. The FBM Mid 70 Index increased by 54.43 points to 17,945.26, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose by 57.87 points to 12,502.12. However, the FBM ACE Index experienced a decline of 21.04 points to 4,905.83.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index advanced by 100.10 points to 20,157.21. In contrast, the Energy Index fell by 7.45 points to 766.38, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down by 0.52 points to 187.34, and the Plantation Index slipped by 12.01 points to 9,312.99.