Kuala Lumpur:Late buying in selected heavyweight stocks, particularly utility counters, helped Bursa Malaysia close marginally higher on Wednesday, aligning with regional markets. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose by 2.02 points, or 0.13 percent, to 1,613.87 from Tuesday’s close of 1,611.85. The index opened 2.64 points higher at 1,614.49 and fluctuated between 1,609.44 and 1,615.87 during the session.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the broader market was positive, with gainers surpassing losers 658 to 418, while 524 counters remained unchanged, 1,267 were untraded, and 104 were suspended. Turnover decreased to 3.16 billion units valued at RM2.28 billion, compared to Tuesday’s 3.37 billion units worth RM3.10 billion.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng, commented that regional markets were mostly firmer, following overnight gains on Wall Street, driven by strong semiconductor earnings that reinforced optimism about artificial intelligence (AI) demand. He noted that investors were focused on the US Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate decision and the earnings of major technology companies.
Thong Pak Leng also mentioned that on the domestic front, a cautiously optimistic view is maintained, supported by resilient economic fundamentals and relatively attractive valuations. He suggested that recent market corrections present opportunities for selective accumulation of fundamentally sound blue-chip stocks, although subdued liquidity and external uncertainties might limit recovery. It is expected that the FBM KLCI will trade within the 1,600-1,630 range for the remainder of the week, with a slight upward bias.
Among heavyweight stocks, YTL Power International gained 17 sen to RM5.27, and YTL Corporation added 10 sen to RM2.15. Meanwhile, Maybank and CIMB remained flat at RM9.99 and RM7.11 respectively, while Public Bank decreased by four sen to RM4.71. In active trading, Zetrix AI and MAG were flat at 8.5 sen and 15.5 sen respectively, V.S Industry increased by one sen to 35.5 sen, Top Glove added half a sen to 97 sen, while GIIB Holdings decreased by 2.5 sen to 71 sen.
Nestle led the top gainers, adding RM3.70 to RM97.98, Malaysian Pacific Industries improved by 84 sen to RM42.14, ViTrox rose by 24 sen to RM11.06, while Sarawak Oil Palms and Fraser & Neave each added 22 sen to RM5.50 and RM19.90 respectively. Among the top losers, United Plantations dropped by 38 sen to RM29.32, Hong Leong Industries fell by 28 sen to RM16.22, Ayer Holdings shed 25 sen to RM7.75, Westports declined by 20 sen to RM6.88, and Dufu Technology decreased by 16 sen to RM3.01.