Bursa Malaysia Higher At Midday Break On Bargain Hunting

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session higher on bargain hunting of heavyweight stocks, mainly in healthcare, industrial, and consumer products, following yesterday’s retreat.

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) added 4.68 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 1,619.87 from Monday’s closing of 1,615.19.

The benchmark index opened 2.10 points higher at 1,617.29 and moved between 1617.29 and 1,622.75 throughout the session.

The market breadth was mixed, with 445 gainers, 457 losers, and 514 counters unchanged, while 1,243 were untraded and nine suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.80 billion units, valued at RM1.75 billion.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said it continues to favour the solar segment following the Budget 2026 announcement. “Amid the lingering US-China trade tensions and Top Glove’s recent positive results, traders may continue to look for opportunities in glove-related counters,” it said in a note today.

In Budget 2026, the government announced the energy transition agenda, where the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) sets a target of achieving 70 per cent of electricity generation capacity from renewable energy sources (RE) by 2050.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank was flat at RM9.93, Public Bank added two sen to RM4.24, and Tenaga Nasional climbed four sen to RM13.30. IHH Healthcare rose six sen to RM8.05, while CIMB Group slipped three sen to RM7.40.

As for the actives, Genting Malaysia surged 19 sen to RM2.33, and Tanco Holdings added one sen to 86 sen. NexG eased 3.5 sen to 46.5 sen, Top Glove slipped one sen to 69.5 sen, and VS Industry dropped 1.5 sen to 54.5 sen.

Of the top gainers, Nestle jumped RM1.70 to RM101.30, Fraser & Neave Holdings rose 44 sen to RM28.10, Hong Leong Bank bounced 18 sen to RM20.64, and Malayan Cement gained 17 sen to RM6.85.

Top decliners included Malaysian Pacific Industries, which dropped 64 sen to RM29.66, and Petronas Dagangan, which fell 24 sen to RM22.76. Petronas Gas and PIE Industrial lost 20 sen to RM18.74 and RM3.33, respectively, while Country View shed 13 sen to RM2.82.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index advanced 31.86 points to 12,110.40, the FBMT 100 Index improved 37.84 points to 11,836.99, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 25.44 points to 12,198.24.

The FBM 70 Index added 70.61 points to 17,155.04, and the FBM ACE Index rose 18.59 points to 5,269.00.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index climbed 35.95 points to 18,258.01, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.33 of a point to 174.85, and the Plantation Index added 3.58 points to 7,868.70, while the Energy Index dropped 1.86 points to 793.31.

-- BERNAMA