Bursa Malaysia Extends Upward Momentum To End Higher

By Zarul Effendi Razali

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia extended its upward trajectory to close higher today, supported by sustained buying in selected heavyweights, despite cautious sentiment in regional markets, a dealer said.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 5.28 points, or 0.33 per cent, to close at 1,590.24 from Monday’s close of 1,584.96.

The benchmark index opened 2.47 points firmer at 1,587.43, and moved between 1,584.62 and 1,594.40 throughout the day.

The broader market was positive with advancers leading decliners 503 to 489, while 510 counters were unchanged, 1,084 untraded and six suspended. 

Turnover improved to 2.60 billion units worth RM2.74 billion from 2.54 billion units worth RM2.72 billion on Monday.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the key regional indices finished mostly lower due to profit-taking, tracking the broadly negative cue from Wall Street overnight, with market sentiment cautious as investors await policy hints from the Federal Reserve ahead of its annual Jackson Hole symposium on Aug 21-23.

“As for the local bourse, investor sentiment continues to improve as the benchmark index has breached the 1,585 resistance level. With the index reclaiming levels last seen in early 2025, we believe this could pave the way to the 1,600 psychological level and further strengthen the case for a sustained uptrend toward 1,640.

“For the moment, we maintain our weekly FBM KLCI target of between 1,570 and 1,600, then 1,620 if momentum continues,” he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said the FBM KLCI’s resilience at these higher levels underscores the strength of domestic sentiment, supported by renewed institutional inflows into equities.

“Capital flow data indicates that local institutions are rebalancing towards domestic-oriented sectors, with property and consumer counters continuing to attract interest as investors position for resilient household demand and an improving domestic growth cycle,” he said.

“Should domestic institutional support continue and geopolitical risk sentiment improve further, the index has the potential to re-test the 1,600 level in the near term, with property, consumer, and energy-linked counters remaining key drivers.”

Among the heavyweights, Maybank added 2.0 sen to RM9.80, Tenaga Nasional jumped 10 sen to RM13.72, CIMB climbed 6.0 sen to RM7.39, IHH Healthcare improved 3.0 sen to RM6.85, while Public Bank was flat at RM4.46.

Of the most active counters, Velesto earned half-a-sen to 19 sen, Tanco eased half-a-sen to 73 sen, Zetrix fell 3.5 sen to 86.5 sen, Genetec slid 6.0 sen to 56.5 sen, while TWL holdings was flat at 2.5 sen.

Meanwhile, trading in the securities of Pestec International Bhd has been halted between 3.01 pm and 4.01 pm today.

Bursa Malaysia said stocks of the company and its warrant will be forbidden from direct business transaction until 10 am on Wednesday, Aug 20, 2025, as per Bursa Trading Rule 10.10(1).

Across the broader market, the FBM Emas Index increased 33.61 points to 11,812.41, the FBMT 100 Index gained 35.06 points to 11,597.65, the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 37.77 points to 11,731.40, the FBM 70 Index advanced 35.40 points to 16,709.97, while the FBM ACE Index slipped 4.53 points to 4,709.69.

By sector, the Financial Services Index garnered 55.13 points to 18,185.50, the Plantation Index bagged 11.72 points to 7,546.48, the Industrial Products and Services Index perked up 0.77 of-a-point to 159.12, while the Energy Index gained 11.87 points to 750.22.

The Main Market volume rose to 1.49 billion units valued at RM2.51 billion from Monday’s 1.39 billion units valued at RM2.47 billion.

Warrants turnover jumped to 732.43 million units worth RM101.91 million from 694.21 million units worth RM98.99 million previously.

The ACE Market volume declined to 375.68 million units worth RM134.87 million from 459.40 million units worth RM150.63 million yesterday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 223.04 million shares traded on the Main Market; industrial products and services (213.61 million), construction (125.83 million), technology (214.04 million), financial services (82.87 million), property (219.62 million), plantation (20.82 million), REITs (47.04 million), closed-end fund (nil), energy (161.39 million), healthcare (61.74 million), telecommunications and media (52.01 million), transportation and logistics (28.54 million), utilities (39.39 million), and business trusts (308,400).

-- BERNAMA