KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia remained firmly higher at midday on Friday, tracking Wall Street's overnight gains, with buying interest in plantation and selected blue-chip stocks lifting the benchmark index.
At the lunch break, the FBM KLCI gained 12.75 points, or 0.76%, to 1,696.01, just shy of its morning high of 1,698.53.
There were 405 gainers, 572 losers and 548 counters traded unchanged on the Bursa Malaysia. Turnover stood at 1.9 billion shares valued at RM1.4bil.
Among the gainers, United Plantations rose 86 sen to RM32.16, CEPCO surged 55 sen to RM3.20, PETRONAS Dagangan gained 38 sen to RM19.16 and PETRONAS Gas added 34 sen to RM17.54.
Among the decliners, Nestle fell RM1.10 to RM94.02, F&N shed 56 sen to RM26.32, Malaysian Pacific Industries
lost 38 sen to RM47.06 and Kelington Group declined 28 sen to RM7.62.
TA Securities said the local market is expected to sustain its recovery trend, backed by strengthening technical signals, though external headwinds could continue to cap gains.
“Immediate resistance for the index is kept at the 123.6% Fibonacci Projection (FP) level of 1,759, with tougher upside hurdles seen at the 138.2% FP level of 1,805 and the 150% FP level of 1,842 ahead.
“Meanwhile, immediate support is capped at the March 2026 low of 1,664, with stronger support coming from the 76.4% Fibonacci Retracement (FR) level of 1,610, followed by the 61.8% FR level of 1,564,” TA said.
Meanwhile, Malacca Securities said the local bourse is likely to extend its gains today, tracking the rebound on Wall Street, particularly the gains in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
The brokerage said buying interest has emerged in plantation counters such as SD Guthrie, Jaya Tiasa Holdings and United Plantations amid Indonesia's completion of automotive testing for its planned B45/B50 biodiesel mandate this month and expectations of El Niño conditions from June to August, which could tighten palm oil supply.
