KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia remained in positive territory at midday, mirroring the upbeat performance of most regional peers and supported by positive sentiment following Wall Street's strong overnight gains.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 7.28 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 1,752.59 from Monday's close of 1,745.31.
The benchmark index, which opened 3.14 points firmer at 1,748.45, moved between 1,748.45 and 1,755.54 during the session.
Market breadth, however, was negative, with losers outpacing gainers 521 to 505, while 566 counters were unchanged, 1,073 untraded and 11 suspended.
Turnover stood at 2.53 billion units, valued at RM1.52 billion.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the market undertone had turned cautious amid high Brent crude prices that remained stubbornly above US$104 per barrel.
"We will advocate investors to start bargain hunting if the index dips further or at around the 1,720-1730 levels. For today, we expect the index to hover within the 1,740-1,750 range,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd (HLIB) said sentiment should remain cautious and headline-driven, with the ceasefire "on life support” amid renewed Gulf tensions and persistent Israel-Lebanon flare-ups.
It said focus now shifted to the high-stakes United States President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping summit in Beijing, where both sides will seek to stabilise ties over trade, Taiwan, artificial intelligence chips, rare earths and Iran.
"Domestically, attention stays on the first quarter of 2026 earnings, particularly guidance, as investors balance resilient fundamentals against rising geopolitical risks, elevated energy prices and emerging growth headwinds,” the investment bank said.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank and IHH Healthcare rose six sen to RM11.24 and RM9.0, respectively, Petronas Chemicals added seven sen to RM5.42, Sunway Healthcare was flat at RM1.86, while Kuala Lumpur Kepong fell six sen to RM20.94.
Among the most active counters, Oppstar gained 21.5 sen to 89.5 sen, Zetrix AI eased three sen to 82.5 sen, SMRT was flat at 28 sen, Top Glove lost 1.5 sen to 84 sen, TT Vision increased 5.5 sen to 38.5 sen, and Genetec was five sen firmer at 30 sen.
Top gainers Malaysian Pacific added RM1.60 to RM42.60, UMS Integration inched up RM1.09 to RM8.21, Nestle advanced 50 sen to RM101.70, Hong Leong Industries rose 36 sen to RM19.26, and Kelington appreciated 29 sen to RM6.49.
As for the top losers, Dutch Lady
slipped 22 sen to RM32.80, United Plantations decreased 18 sen to RM30.34, Ajinomoto was 14 sen weaker at RM12.42, Hong Leong Financial down 10 sen to RM19.0, and KPJ Healthcare slid eight sen to RM3.41.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index advanced 40.09 points to 12,971.69, the FBM Top 100 Index strengthened 43.87 points to 12,814.82, the FBM Emas Shariah Index accumulated 27.22 points to 12,871.36, the FBM Mid 70 Index put on 23.26 points to 18,584.72, and the FBM ACE Index gained 43.09 points to 4,718.89.
By sector, the Financial Services Index garnered 70.84 points to 20,377.02, while the Energy Index was 0.25 of a point lower at 806.93, the Plantation Index went up 1.51 points to 8,839.59, and the Industrial Products and Services Index was higher by 1.75 points at 197.51. - Bernama
