KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia’s key index closed higher yesterday as bargain- hunting activities emerged in banking and plantation heavyweights following the recent pullback.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI jumped 12.07 points to 1,713.09 from last Friday’s close of 1,701.02.
The benchmark index, which opened 2.63 points firmer at 1,703.65, moved between 1,702.35 and 1,718.31 during yesterday’s trading.
In the broader market, decliners outnumbered gainers 547 to 531, while 563 counters were unchanged, 1,132 untraded, and 53 suspended.
Turnover fell to 2.86 billion units valued at RM2.24bil from 3.03 billion units valued at RM2.3bil last Friday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said key regional indices finished broadly higher as investor sentiment improved following a sharp decline in Brent crude oil prices amid easing West Asia tensions.
At the time of writing, Brent crude was down 7.93% to US$89.22 per barrel. “The retreat in oil prices helped alleviate concerns over inflation and potential supply disruptions, encouraging investors to rotate back into risk assets,” he told Bernama.
Despite yesterday’s rebound, he maintained a cautious near-term outlook on the local market. He said that investors are also likely to remain selective ahead of key US economic data, major technology companies’ earnings and the upcoming US Federal Reserve policy decision.
The US economic data are advance estimates for the second-quarter 2026 gross domestic product and personal consumption expenditures inflation data for June 2026, both to be released on July 30.
“We, therefore, expect the FBM KLCI to remain range-bound between 1,700 and 1,730 for the week with volatility likely to persist as geopolitical developments continue to drive market sentiment,” he said.
