Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia's benchmark index saw an increase during the morning trading session, driven by sustained buying interest in heavyweight banking and industrial product counters. This positive momentum comes amid improved sentiment following the renewed US-Iran ceasefire. At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased by 8.06 points, or 0.47 percent, reaching 1,718.45 from the previous close of 1,710.39.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the FBM KLCI, which began the day 5.16 points higher at 1,715.55, traded within a range of 1,714.41 to 1,722.23 points throughout the morning. Market breadth was positive, with gainers outnumbering losers 557 to 447. Additionally, 557 counters remained unchanged, 1,210 were untraded, and 43 were suspended. Turnover was recorded at 2.04 billion units, valued at RM1.37 billion.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd noted that tracking Wall Street's positive performance, the FBM KLCI is expected to rebound. The firm also mentioned that buying interest in glove makers remains due to the double blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, which disrupts the procurement of raw materials and leads to a higher glove average selling price.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank saw an increase of two sen to RM11.24, Public Bank rose by nine sen to RM4.85, Tenaga Nasional increased by four sen to RM14.56, CIMB Group advanced eight sen to RM7.82, and IHH Healthcare improved by three sen to RM8.84.
On the most active list, ACE Market debutant AMS Advanced Material remained unchanged at 29 sen, while Zetrix AI slipped by half-a-sen to 85.5 sen. AirAsia X fell by seven sen to RM1.23, NexG increased by half-a-sen to 32 sen, and Velesto Energy remained flat at 33 sen.
Top gainers included Malaysian Pacific Industries, which surged by 98 sen to RM36.62, Kelington Group, which advanced by 30 sen to RM5.99, Apollo Food, which climbed by 16 sen to RM5.94, UMS Integration, which rose by 16 sen to RM6.19, and Hong Leong Financial, which gained 16 sen to RM19.30.
Among the top losers, Nestle dropped 44 sen to RM98.30, Fraser and Neave fell by 36 sen to RM30.56, United Plantations decreased by 32 sen to RM33.40, MISC declined by 22 sen to RM8.08, and Hong Leong Industries eased by 16 sen to RM17.42.
On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index rose by 68.36 points to 12,521.95, the FBM Emas Index gained 63.59 points to 12,681.61, the FBM Mid 70 Index advanced 139.55 points to 17,974.82, the FBM Emas Shariah Index improved by 38.08 points to 12,519.27, and the FBM ACE Index added 1.90 points to 4,623.45. By sector, the Financial Services Index climbed 152.79 points to 20,305.74, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 1.82 points to 187.70, the Energy Index jumped 6.74 points to 828.78, and the Plantation Index slid 19.25 points to 8,892.38.