Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia's key index closed higher on Tuesday, aligning with the regional and global uptrend as it returned from the Deepavali break. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased by 9.65 points, or 0.60 percent, to settle at 1,616.83, compared to Friday's close of 1,607.18.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the benchmark index opened stronger at 1,611.78 and fluctuated between 1,609.02 and 1,617.15 throughout the trading session. The broader market reflected positivity, with 779 gainers surpassing 369 losers, while 496 counters remained unchanged, 1,028 were untraded, and 31 were suspended. Nevertheless, turnover decreased to 3.68 billion units worth RM2.55 billion, down from 3.81 billion units worth RM3.03 billion on Friday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's vice-president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng, noted that key regional indices extended their gains, spurred by optimism over the potential easing of trade tensions between the United States and China. This came after US President Donald Trump expressed optimism about reaching a fair trade agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping. On the domestic front, the local market appeared to be catching up with regional peers, with trading activity picking up as investors gradually re-entered the market following a round of profit-taking.
Thong added, "Overall sentiment is turning more constructive, with the benchmark index maintaining stability above the 1,600 level. We expect the FBM KLCI to trade within the 1,600-1,630 range for the week."
Among heavyweight counters, Maybank and CIMB each added one sen to RM9.90 and RM7.35, respectively. Public Bank gained seven sen to RM4.27, Tenaga Nasional was 14 sen firmer at RM13.24, while IHH Healthcare remained flat at RM8.30. On the most active list, Tanco and Velesto added one sen each to 87 sen and 26 sen, respectively, while EA Holdings and TWL were flat at half-a-sen and 2.5 sen, and HHRG fell half-a-sen to seven sen.
Top gainers included Nestle, which jumped RM4.50 to RM109.50. Malaysian Pacific Industries gained 92 sen to RM29.84, and Petronas Dagangan added 32 sen to RM22.54. KSL bounced 28 sen to RM3.11. Among the top decliners, Dutch Lady lost 38 sen to RM26.18, Malayan Cement fell 13 sen to RM6.57, and Binastra slid 10 sen to RM2.22. Cyberjaya Education was 8.5 sen weaker at 78 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 77.79 points to 12,082.70, the FBMT 100 Index added 71.37 points to 11,813.39, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased by 100.18 points to 12,157.45. The FBM 70 Index gained 106.99 points to 17,114.93, and the FBM ACE Index advanced 32.54 points to 5,311.43.
In sectoral performance, the Financial Services Index widened 61.04 points to 18,253.48, the Industrial Products and Services Index ticked up by 0.33 of a point to 171.38, and the Energy Index added 3.35 points to 792.28. The Plantation Index grew by 41.21 points to 7,902.07.
Market activity highlighted that the Main Market volume narrowed to 1.68 billion units valued at RM2.21 billion from 2.24 billion units valued at RM2.69 billion on Friday. Warrant turnover expanded to 1.58 billion units worth RM189.80 million compared to 1.07 billion units worth RM116.62 million. The ACE Market volume fell to 425.07 million units valued at RM145.50 million from 497.93 million units valued at RM216.54 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 376.41 million shares traded on the Main Market, followed by industrial products and services (354.02 million), construction (93.25 million), technology (290.65 million), financial services (53.10 million), property (219.92 million), plantation (25.36 million), real estate investment trusts (13.64 million), closed-end fund (12,600), energy (110.08 million), healthcare (80.53 million), telecommunications and media (24.14 million), transportation and logistics (14.96 million), utilities (22.46 million), and business trusts (29,500).