Bursa Malaysia Extends Gains At Midday In Line With Regional Markets

KUALA LUMPUR, May 29 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia extended gains at midday today, in line with the stronger performance across regional markets, as bargain hunting emerged in selected heavyweights led by industrial products and services as well as financial counters.

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 5.61 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 1,690.54 from Thursday’s close of 1,684.93.

The benchmark index opened 3.25 points higher at 1,688.18 and moved between 1,686.93 and 1,694.65 during the morning trading session.

Market breadth was positive with gainers outpacing losers 569 to 450, while 492 counters were unchanged, 1,131 untraded and 53 suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.88 billion units valued at RM1.86 billion.

Regionally, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose by 1.10 per cent to 25,281.43, Singapore’s Straits Times Index inched up 0.92 per cent to 5,035.14, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was 2.59 per cent higher to 66,367.81, and South Korea’s KOSPI Composite Index increased by 2.83 per cent to 8,417.22.

In a note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said investors are expected to accumulate banking stocks, given their strong fundamentals and attractive dividend yields, amid the ongoing sell-down in index-linked counters.

“We think traders could take positions in stocks of technology companies, some of which are likely to benefit from the surge in demand for nearline hard disk drives and diversification into advanced manufacturing in 2027, while others can potentially benefit from Intel’s multi-billion-dollar advanced packaging hub expansion in Malaysia,” it said.

Among heavyweight stocks, Maybank gained eight sen to RM10.58, Tenaga Nasional added 12 sen to RM14.36, while CIMB Group eased one sen to RM7.48, Public Bank inched down two sen to RM4.75, and IHH Healthcare slipped three sen to RM8.96.

Among active stocks, NationGate Holdings soared 14.5 sen to 90.5 sen, Genetec Technology and SFP Tech Holdings each rose two sen to 33.5 sen and 28 sen, respectively, YTL Corp advanced seven sen to RM2.11, while Zetrix AI remained unchanged at 81.5 sen.

Leading gainers included Nestle, which put on RM1.24 to RM96.24, Petronas Dagangan garnered 44 sen to RM17.78, Kelington Group jumped 42 sen to RM7.85, Ajinomoto rose 32 sen to RM13.60, and QL Resources added 29 sen to RM3.69.

Among the top losers, Hong Leong Industries lost 30 sen to RM18.08, Kuala Lumpur Kepong slipped 18 sen to RM19.78, Petronas Chemicals Group and KESM Industries fell 14 sen each to RM5.37 and RM4.82, respectively, and Far East Holdings shed 10 sen to RM4.00.

 On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 64.44 points to 12,605.72, the FBM Top 100 Index rose 64.97 points to 12,445.45, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 84.31 points to 12,635.22. The FBM Mid 70 Index climbed 196.74 points to 18,410.43 and the FBM ACE Index improved 21.55 points to 4,742.69.

By sector, the Industrial Products and Services Index increased 1.25 points to 199.58, the Financial Services Index perked up 18.13 points to 19,564.14, while the Plantation Index slid 35.63 points to 8,469.32, and the Energy Index eased 4.33 points to 778.57.

Bursa Malaysia also announced that trading in the shares of Harrisons Holdings (M) Bhd have been halted with effect from 11.19 am today,  and will resume with effect from 2.30 pm.

-- BERNAMA