KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended at an intraday high on broad-based buying, reflecting improving sentiment on the local front, analysts say.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said key regional indices also ended higher, supported by strong gains in artificial intelligence or AI-related and technology stocks, as investors continued to rotate into growth sectors amid improving global risk appetite.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI rose 17.75 points, or 1.03%, to close at 1,739.77 from last Thursday’s close of 1,722.02.
The benchmark index, which opened 6.72 points firmer at 1,728.74, hit its lowest level of 1,725.01 in early trade before gaining momentum for the rest of the day.
Market breadth was positive with gainers leading losers 668 to 494. A total of 582 counters were unchanged, 877 were untraded, and 24 were suspended.
Turnover increased to 3.05 billion units worth RM2.55bil compared with 2.91 billion units worth RM3.21bil last Thursday.
Thong remains cautiously optimistic on the local market, supported by selective accumulation in blue chips and the improving market tone.
“However, sentiment is likely to stay measured as geopolitical tensions in West Asia remain unresolved and could lead to sudden shifts in market direction,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan further said Malaysia Manufacturing PMI, which reached a four-year high, pointed to a strengthening in underlying activity and, more importantly, an improvement in business confidence.
“This suggests the recovery is becoming more durable rather than purely cyclical, supporting a rotation into mid and small-cap segments that are more leveraged to domestic demand,” he said.
Furthermore, he said the firmer tone was underpinned by improving global risk sentiment following strong earnings delivery from the US technology sector, which continues to reinforce confidence in the resilience of the global earnings cycle.
Among heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd
rose 20 sen to RM11.28, Public Bank Bhd added seven sen to RM4.75, Tenaga Nasional Bhd gained 26 sen to RM14.80, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd increased three sen to RM7.69, and IHH Healthcare Bhd climbed five sen to RM8.87.
On the most active list, Zetrix AI gained four sen to 86 sen, Pegasus was flat at half-a-sen, Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd rose two sen to 36.5 sen, and VS Industry shed half-a-sen to 20.5 sen.
