Bursa Malaysia Surges To Highest Level Since 2018 At Mid-Afternoon

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 26 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia’s key benchmark index surged to its highest level in more than seven years at mid-afternoon, lifted by the ringgit's continued strength against the US dollar which drew traders' focus towards domestic-oriented sectors, especially the financial services counters.

At 3 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) climbed 22.47 points to 1,742.46 from last Friday’s close of 1,719.99. The FBM KLCI’s last close above 1,740 was 1,740.59 on Oct 17, 2018.

However, market breadth was negative, with decliners leading gainers 626 to 501. A total of 473 counters were unchanged while 1,128 were untraded and 39 suspended.

Turnover stood at 2.32 billion units worth RM2.33 billion.

IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said the current alignment between the FBM KLCI and the ringgit is a clear signal of repricing rather than speculation, reflecting a fundamental reassessment of Malaysia’s macro risk profile.

“The strengthening of the ringgit has preceded and stabilised equity participation, a sequence typically associated with improving policy credibility and macro confidence.

“In speculative episodes, equities usually lead while currencies lag. The inversion of that pattern suggests investors are recalibrating Malaysia’s risk premium rather than chasing short-term returns,” he said in a statement today.

As currency risk compresses, the required equity risk premium narrows mechanically, allowing valuations to adjust without reliance on aggressive earnings upgrades or multiple expansion, he said. 

Additionally, Mohd Sedek said global investors are re-reading Malaysia’s structural positioning. 

“The market is moving away from treating Malaysia as a high-beta China proxy and towards recognising it as a differentiated, semiconductor- and artificial intelligence-adjacent manufacturing economy benefiting from supply chain reconfiguration. 

“This shift improves the quality and persistence of capital flows supporting both the currency and equities. This is not a trading bounce, it is an early-stage recalibration of Malaysia’s risk premium unfolding in real time,” he said.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank added 20 sen to RM11.56, Public Bank gained 10 sen to RM4.88, CIMB advanced 26 sen to RM8.56, Tenaga Nasional increased 18 sen to RM13.98, and IHH Healthcare rose six sen to RM8.66. 

On the most active list, Capital A climbed five sen to 59.5 sen, AirAsia X surged 26 sen to RM2.10, and Press Metal advanced 16 sen to RM7.57, while VS Industry shaved off one sen to 45 sen.

Top gainers included Dutch Lady Milk Industries, which advanced 86 sen to RM33.20, while Hong Leong Bank improved 50 sen to RM24.50, Hong Leong Financial Group strengthened 46 sen to RM21.50, and AirAsia X leaped 26 sen to RM2.10.

As for the top decliners, BLD Plantation dropped 88 sen to RM14.42, Malaysian Pacific Industries decreased 60 sen to RM32.52, Vitrox lost 21 sen to RM4.34, and Hong Leong Industries fell 16 sen to RM17.02. 

On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index grew 133.98 points to 12,589.78, the FBM Emas Index rose 126.49 points to 12,787.03, the FBM Mid 70 Index increased 59.92 points to 17,622.14, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 67.50 points to 12,377.15, but the FBM ACE Index gave up 75.62 points to 4,829.43.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index jumped 394.32 points to 21,197.49, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.6 of a point to 177.09, and the Plantation Index added 66.94 points to 8,436.71. 

However, the Energy Index eased 2.72 points to 766.66.

-- BERNAMA