Bursa Malaysia Extends Gains On Bargain Hunting

By Durratul Ain Ahmad Fuad

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 3 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended modestly higher today on bargain hunting, extending its recovery from last week’s pullback, although the upside momentum faded after an early peak, said an economist.  

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 7.38 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 1,748.26 from last Friday’s close of 1,740.88. 

The market bellwether opened 15.21 points higher at 1,756.09, and subsequently hit an intraday high of 1,757.51 in early trade before slipping to its day’s low of 1,742.68 during the mid-morning session.

In the broader market, losers led gainers 662 to 464, some 556 counters were unchanged, 953 counters were untraded and seven were suspended.

Turnover expanded to 3.25 billion shares valued at RM3.34 billion from last Friday's 2.73 billion shares valued at RM3.43 billion. 

IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said the index traded sideways through the afternoon, reflecting orderly profit-taking and tactical positioning rather than a deterioration in underlying market structure, with consolidation persisting below the 1,760 near-term resistance.

“Overall, the index continues to hold comfortably above its key moving averages, supporting the view that any near-term weakness remains corrective in nature.

“Unless momentum indicators deteriorate materially, the broader technical bias remains constructive as markets consolidate ahead of the upcoming Purchasing Managers' Index releases and key US macro data later in the week,” he told Bernama. 

Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI extended its upward momentum in line with firmer regional sentiment.

“Asian markets ended mostly higher, led by strong gains in South Korea and Japan amid a rally in artificial intelligence-related shares, while investors tracked Wall Street’s overnight advance driven by technology and chipmaking stocks.

“Attention now turns to major corporate earnings this week, including Amazon and Alphabet,” he said. 

Back home, Thong said the local market continues to show a positive tone, supported by steady buying interest and improving confidence among investors.

“As long as the index holds above its key support zone at 1,730, this should provide a solid foundation for the next leg of the rally to unfold. We anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within the 1,730-1,760 range for the week,” he added. 

Among heavyweights, Maybank added 14 sen to RM11.94, Public Bank put on 8.0 sen to RM4.95, Tenaga Nasional gained 18 sen to RM14.12, CIMB eased 2.0 sen to RM8.56, and IHH Healthcare was 8.0 sen lower at RM8.88.

On the most active list, Pharmaniaga was 4.0 sen better at 32.5 sen, Zetrix AI perked up 1.0 sen to 81.5 sen, Gamuda eased 28 sen to RM4.14, Tanco erased 3.0 sen to RM1.33, and Capital A lost 2.0 sen to 59.5 sen.

Among the top gainers, Malaysian Pacific Industries advanced RM1.06 to RM33.06, Nestle was 20 sen firmer at RM112.20, UWC rose 31 sen to RM4.40, Dutch Lady Milk Industries climbed 28 sen to RM33.28, and Malayan Cement gained 25 sen to RM8.25.

United Plantations led the decliners, falling RM1.06 to RM29.18, Fraser & Neave declined 96 sen to RM34.80, Petronas Dagangan dipped 88 sen to RM20.32, Hong Leong Bank shed 82 sen to RM24.98, and RHB Bank slid 30 sen to RM8.15.

Bursa Malaysia Bhd and its subsidiaries were closed on Feb 2, 2026 (Monday), in conjunction with the Thaipusam and Federal Territory public holidays, and resumed operations on Feb 3, 2026 (Tuesday).

On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index increased 35.30 points to 12,597.32, the FBM Emas Index advanced 30.42 points to 12,776.41, the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 22.25 points to 12,297.57, while the FBM Mid 70 Index slipped 31.84 points to 17,477.74, and the FBM ACE Index slid 15.95 points to 4,707.05.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index gained 14.27 points to 21,524.45, the Plantation Index added 8.49 points to 8,373.05, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 1.88 points to 177.44, and the Energy Index fell 8.85 points to 750.08. 

The Main Market volume improved to 1.73 billion units worth RM3.06 billion from last Friday's 1.58 billion units worth RM3.17 billion.

Warrants turnover jumped to 1.03 billion units worth RM123.86 million from 748.94 million units worth RM103.08 million previously.

The ACE Market volume expanded to 504.24 million units worth RM148.01 million from 392.11 million units worth RM150.43 million last Friday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 285.76 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (212.92 million), construction (180.82 million), technology (262.74 million), financial services (116.17 million), property (189.89 million), plantation (22.94 million), real estate investment trusts (23.19 million), closed-end fund (127,700), energy (66.22 million), healthcare (238.46 million), telecommunications and media (57.86 million), transportation and logistics (39.37 million), utilities (28.85 million), and business trusts (16,600).

-- BERNAMA