Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia's benchmark index finished slightly higher on Monday, buoyed by mild buying interest in select heavyweights, amidst choppy trading throughout the day. At the close of the trading session, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) recorded a gain of 1.76 points, or 0.11 percent, settling at 1,627.43 compared to Friday's close of 1,625.67.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the benchmark index commenced trading 1.80 points higher at 1,627.47 and fluctuated between 1,626.23 and 1,633.84 during the session. Market breadth was negative, with 604 decliners surpassing 482 advancers, while 560 counters remained unchanged, and 1,092 were untraded, with 11 suspended. The turnover increased to 3.77 billion units worth RM2.47 billion, in contrast to Friday's 3.64 billion units worth RM2.68 billion.
SPI Asset Management's managing partner, Stephen Innes, commented that the FBM KLCI edged higher, but the overall market tone was more of a 'holding pattern' rather than a breakout. He noted that the Malaysian market was drifting along with regional trends, modestly firmer yet restrained, as investors remain cautious ahead of significant delayed US economic data. Innes emphasized that global cues such as yields, dollar movements, and China's market dynamics were more influential than domestic catalysts.
Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's vice-president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng, highlighted that remarks from Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Taiwan had heightened geopolitical tensions in East Asia. Despite this, emerging markets saw buying activities, benefiting from cheaper valuations and stronger local currencies against the US dollar. Thong predicted that the benchmark index, hovering around the 1,630 level, could break through to reach the 1,650 level, with expectations for the FBM KLCI to trend within the 1,620-1,650 range for the week.
In terms of heavyweights, Public Bank added 1.0 sen to RM4.30, CIMB rose 8.0 sen to RM7.61, Press Metal increased by 3.0 sen to RM6.46, Hong Leong Bank gained 4.0 sen to RM21, while Maybank slipped 1.0 sen to RM9.92. TNB and IHH Healthcare declined by 14 sen to RM13.28 and 7.0 sen to RM8.20, respectively.
Among the most active stocks, Tanco added 1.0 sen to 96.5 sen, Perak Transit rose by 2.0 sen to 28.5 sen, while OCR Group remained flat at 4.0 sen, and MMAG decreased by 1.5 sen to 6.0 sen. Top gainers included Malaysian Pacific Industries, which climbed 80 sen to RM31.50, Fraser and Neave, which jumped 56 sen to RM33.02, and United Plantation, which was up 50 sen to RM26.80. Conversely, top losers such as Kuala Lumpur Kepong and Nestle each fell by 50 sen to RM20.76 and RM113, respectively.
On the index board, the FBMT 100 Index rose by 17.58 points to 11,840.64, and the FBM Emas Index increased by 18.24 points to 12,073.09. The FBM Emas Shariah Index improved by 14.87 points to 12,074.04. The FBM ACE Index gained 31.51 points to 5,015.27, while the FBM Mid 70 Index was 45.75 points higher at 16,936.62. Sector-wise, the Plantation Index fell by 21.94 points to 8,118.14, the Financial Services Index gained 64.78 points to 18,496.12, and the Industrial Products and Services Index added 0.30 of a point to 167.29, while the Energy Index rose by 5.39 points to 761.00.
The Main Market volume narrowed to 1.27 billion units valued at RM1.96 billion compared to Friday's 1.38 billion units valued at RM2.23 billion. Warrant turnover increased to 2.02 billion units worth RM366.90 million, up from 1.90 billion units worth RM305.93 million previously. The ACE Market volume decreased to 478.72 million units valued at RM137.79 million from 348.77 million units valued at RM143.45 million.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 250.43 million shares traded on the Main Market, followed by industrial products and services with 198.86 million, and other sectors including construction, technology, financial services, property, plantation, real estate investment trusts, energy, healthcare, telecommunications and media, transportation and logistics, utilities, and business trusts contributing to the overall market activity.