Bursa Malaysia Extends Gains At Midday On Buying Across Most Sectors

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session higher, with gains seen across most sectors, led by buying in heavyweight counters, particularly in telecommunications, utilities and consumer products.

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) added 2.94 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 1,614.49 from Wednesday’s close of 1,611.55.

The benchmark index opened 0.16 of-a-point lower at 1,611.39 and moved between 1,611.39 and 1,617.28 during the session.

Market breadth was negative, with 545 decliners outnumbering 444 gainers, and 503 counters unchanged, while 1,180 were untraded and 18 suspended.

Turnover stood at 2.24 billion units valued at RM1.47 billion.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said that with Budget 2026 reinforcing the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) through allocations for solar projects, it remains bullish on renewable energy (RE)-related stocks.

The brokerage noted the NETR also highlights Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s RM43 billion grid upgrade programme, which is expected to benefit substation and cable-related companies.

It also said traders may focus on East Malaysia-linked stocks amid higher allocations for Sabah (RM6.9 billion) and Sarawak (RM6.0 billion), alongside the upcoming Sabah state election.

Among the heavyweight counters, Tenaga Nasional rose eight sen to RM13.26, and CIMB Group added one sen to RM7.35. IHH Healthcare eased four sen to RM8.03, Maybank slipped two sen to RM9.90, while Public Bank was unchanged at RM4.20.

In active trading, TWL Holdings added half-a-sen to three sen, Genting Bhd rose 14 sen to RM3.54 and Tanco Holdings gained 1.5 sen to 88 sen and Cahya Mata Sarawak improved two sen to RM1.50, while Dagang Nexchange edged down half-a-sen to 28.5 sen. 

Among the top gainers, Nestle advanced RM1.50 to RM104.20, Malaysian Pacific Industries rose 76 sen to RM29.60, Petronas Gas and United Plantations climbed 36 sen to RM18.88 and RM23.60 respectively, while Frontken Corp added 20 sen to RM4.76.

Top decliners included Petronas Dagangan, which dropped 52 sen to RM22.48, Petron Malaysia slipped 15 sen to RM3.69, Kelington Group eased 14 sen to RM5.70. Scientex and Ideal Capital declined 10 sen to RM3.49 and RM3.40 respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index advanced 28.73 points to 12,095.97, the FBMT 100 Index rose 29.52 points to 11,819.39, the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 41.95 points to 12,184.09, and the FBM 70 Index climbed 77.74 points to 17,223.89,

Meanwhile, the FBM ACE Index dipped 17.23 points to 5,328.14.

By sector, the Financial Services Index improved 7.49 points to 18,202.69 and the Plantation Index strengthened 32.20 points to 7,878.55.

The Industrial Products and Services Index fell 0.54 of-a-point to 173.40, and the Energy Index eased 2.06 points to 797.97.

-- BERNAMA