KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended the penultimate day of the year positively after a weak start, driven by buying momentum in selected heavyweights led by Maybank and Petronas Chemicals amid year-end window dressing by local institutions.
At 5 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) advanced 9.54 points, or 0.59 per cent, to 1,637.68 compared with Friday’s close of 1,628.14.
The benchmark index opened 2.0 points lower at 1,626.14 and moved between 1,624.92 and 1,638.56 throughout the day.
The broader market was also positive, with gainers thumping decliners 614 to 452, while 526 counters remained unchanged, 820 were untraded and 67 were suspended.
Turnover, however, eased to 2.55 billion units valued at RM2.09 billion against last Friday’s 2.87 billion units valued at RM2.08 billion.
SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said the FBM KLCI surged into the green, driven by the promising prospects of robust foreign direct investment, advancements in the tech sector, and solid corporate earnings, all supported by an optimistic economic outlook.
"Amid the uncertainty surrounding tariffs, the belief that several Asian economies could benefit from reshuffled supply chains remains strong. The local government's pivot towards a technological renaissance further fuels bullish sentiment for the local stock exchange, highlighting the FBM KLCI's resilience and forward momentum,” he told Bernama.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank jumped 14 sen to RM10.24, Petronas Chemicals bounced 9.0 sen to RM5.10, TNB soared 10 sen to RM14.84, Hong Leong Bank went up six sen to RM20.42, CIMB and IHH Healthcare were flat at RM8.15 and RM7.23, respectively, while Public Bank shed three sen to RM4.54.
For active stocks, Vanzo increased one sen to 21 sen, JCY International rose half-a-sen to 57.5 sen, Sime Darby Property
climbed nine sen to RM1.70, Supermax was six sen higher at RM1.34, and TWL Holdings was flat at 2.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index jumped 76.17 points to 12,557.92, the FBM Emas Shariah Index leapt 89.75 points to 12,578.84, and the FBMT 100 Index soared 72.01 points to 12,237.18.
The FBM ACE Index fell 4.30 points to 5,345.87 and the FBM 70 Index surged 113.56 points to 18,819.23.
By sector, the Financial Services Index rose 64.95 points to 19,106.91, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 1.32 points to 175.99, the Energy Index put on 1.89 points to 826.54, and the Plantation Index perked up 16.14 points to 7,619.15.
The Main Market volume expanded to 1.42 billion units worth RM1.88 billion from 1.36 billion units worth RM1.86 billion on Friday.
Warrants turnover declined to 702.78 million units valued at RM69.42 million from 919.28 million units valued at RM85.11 million.
The ACE Market volume shrank to 432.90 million units worth RM136.36 million against 588.15 million units worth RM131.65 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 161.95 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (284.94 million), construction (164.45 million), technology (246.31 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (39.81 million), property (249.71 million), plantation (29.48 million), REITs (13.67 million), closed/fund (24,000), energy (62.67 million), healthcare (65.57 million), telecommunications and media (12.99 million), transportation and logistics (26.83 million), utilities (58.18 million), and business trusts (64,200). - Bernama
