Bursa Malaysia Ends Higher as FBM KLCI Climbs 15.51 Points to 1,748.17
Improving sentiment was supported by easing geopolitical tensions, lower crude oil prices and better global risk appetite.
Bursa Malaysia closed higher on Wednesday, with the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rising 15.51 points to 1,748.17 at 5pm, compared with Tuesday's close of 1,732.66.
The benchmark index opened 3.70 points higher at 1,736.36 and fluctuated between 1,732.68 and 1,750.41 through the day.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said sentiment had turned more positive, supported by easing geopolitical tensions, lower crude oil prices and improving global risk appetite.
He said broad-based buying in heavyweight stocks and resilient domestic economic conditions should continue to underpin the local market.
"While intermittent profit-taking may emerge following the recent rally, the overall market undertone remains constructive.
"As such, we expect the FBM KLCI to trade within the 1,740-1,760 range for the remainder of the week," he told Bernama.
The broader market was also positive, with advancers outpacing decliners 690 to 487, while 587 counters were unchanged, 968 untraded and 12 suspended.
Turnover expanded to 3.89 billion units valued at RM3.80 billion, from 2.80 billion units worth RM2.81 billion on Tuesday.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank gained four sen to RM10.82 and Tenaga Nasional advanced 16 sen to RM14.66, while Public Bank eased one sen to RM5.27, CIMB Group was two sen lower at RM8.01 and IHH Healthcare slid 11 sen to RM8.32.
Leading gainers included Nestle, up 70 sen to RM102.50, Pentamaster Corporation (41 sen to RM5.70), United Plantations (36 sen to RM34.40), Vitrox Corporation (35 sen to RM9.10) and YTL Power International (29 sen to RM4.40).
On the losers' list, Fraser & Neave dipped 90 sen to RM26.92, Hong Leong Financial declined 18 sen to RM18.48 and Petronas Dagangan slid 16 sen to RM19.54.
Among the broader indices, the FBM Mid 70 Index climbed 66.46 points to 18,277.96, the FBM Emas Shariah Index leapt 110.12 points to 12,732.63 and the FBM ACE Index advanced 21.82 points to 5,039.26. By sector, the plantation index surged 133.39 points to 9,510.70 and the financial services index put on 49.98 points to 20,569.17.
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