Late Buying in Utilities Lifts Bursa Malaysia

Bursa Malaysia closed marginally higher on Wednesday as late buying in selected heavyweight stocks, particularly utility counters, lifted the benchmark index in line with regional markets, Bernama reported.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 2.02 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 1,613.87 from Tuesday’s close of 1,611.85. The index opened 2.64 points higher at 1,614.49 and moved between 1,609.44 and 1,615.87 during the session.

Market Breadth and Turnover

The broader market was positive, with gainers outpacing losers 658 to 418, while 524 counters were unchanged, 1,267 untraded and 104 suspended.

Turnover fell to 3.16 billion units worth RM2.28 billion from Tuesday’s 3.37 billion units worth RM3.10 billion. Main Market volume declined to 1.69 billion units worth RM1.99 billion, while warrants turnover expanded to 1.07 billion units worth RM137.84 million.

Heavyweights and Top Movers

Among the heavyweights, YTL Power International gained 17 sen to RM5.27 and YTL Corporation added 10 sen to RM2.15. Maybank and CIMB were flat at RM9.99 and RM7.11 respectively, while Public Bank slid four sen to RM4.71.

Nestle led the gainers, rising RM3.70 to RM97.98, followed by Malaysian Pacific Industries, up 84 sen to RM42.14, and ViTrox, up 24 sen to RM11.06. On the losing side, United Plantations dipped 38 sen to RM29.32, Hong Leong Industries slid 28 sen to RM16.22 and Westports slipped 20 sen to RM6.88.

The FBM Emas Index increased 27.98 points to 12,067.27 and the FBM ACE Index jumped 63.29 points to 5,481.92. Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index slipped 21.79 points to 18,579.24 and the Plantation Index lost 7.43 points to 8,646.83.

Late Buying on KLCI

On Bursa Malaysia Derivatives, the October 2026 FBM KLCI futures contract gained 7.0 points to 1,614.0, while the November 2026 contract added 8.5 points to 1,613.0. Open interest slid to 107,497 contracts from 112,482 contracts previously.

FBM KLCI Outlook for the Week

Rakuten Trade vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said regional markets were mostly firmer, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, as strong semiconductor earnings reinforced optimism over artificial intelligence demand. Investors, he said, remained focused on the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision and earnings from major technology companies.

He said recent corrections offered opportunities for selective accumulation of fundamentally sound blue chips, though subdued liquidity and external uncertainties could limit the recovery. He expects the FBM KLCI to trade within the 1,600-1,630 range for the rest of the week, with a mild upward bias.

Earlier in the day, Hong Leong Investment Bank said in a note that third-quarter earnings uncertainty and institutional rebalancing ahead of the FBM KLCI’s phased expansion from 30 to 50 constituents were adding pressure on the market.

#businessnews