Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said key regional markets ended mixed, as investors weighed hopes for lasting peace in the Middle East against concerns over the approaching US tariff deadline.
Back home, he said the benchmark index is showing encouraging signs as it begins to catch up with its regional peers after a period of underperformance.
“Renewed buying interest and improved sentiment are helping to narrow the gap, signalling a potential shift toward a more constructive outlook for the local market.
“This catch-up rally reflects growing investor confidence and suggests that the index may continue to gain momentum in the near-term,” he told Bernama.
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 8.37 points to close at its intraday high of 1,528.16 from yesterday’s close of 1,519.79.
The FBM KLCI, which opened 0.45 of-a-point higher at its intraday low of 1,520.24, trended upward throughout the morning session and gained further during the late trading hours.
The broader market was positive with 509 gainers outnumbering 409 decliners, while 492 counters were unchanged, 1,028 untraded and 102 suspended.
Turnover narrowed to 2.90 billion units worth RM2.23 billion against 3.15 billion units worth RM2.27 billion yesterday.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank, Tenaga Nasional, and IHH Healthcare rose 2 sen each to RM9.81, RM14.26 and RM6.72 respectively, Public Bank put on 4 sen to RM4.34, and CIMB advanced 3 sen to RM6.80.
As for the most active stocks, Tanco was flat at 93 sen, Reservoir Link was down 2 sen to 20.5 sen, Green Ocean trimmed 2.5 sen to 9 sen, SNS Network fell 1.5 sen to 54 sen, while YTL Corp rose 13 sen to RM2.27, and YTL Power soared 20 sen to RM3.90.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index climbed 52.24 points to 11,398.80, the FBMT 100 Index garnered 52.96 points to 11,181.36, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 39.35 points to 11,341.13.
The FBM 70 Index increased 40.56 points to 16,270.66 and the FBM ACE Index ticked up 15.79 points to 4,474.76.
By sector, the financial services index gained 74.10 points to 17,737.10, the industrial products and services index edged up 1.77 points to 151.98, the plantation index surged 98.83 points to 7,329.02, and the energy index added 4.57 points to 732.68.
The Main Market volume decreased to 1.30 billion units worth RM1.95 billion against 1.34 billion units valued at RM1.96 billion yesterday.
Warrants turnover declined to 1.26 billion units valued at RM169.56 million from 1.48 billion units worth RM193.88 million previously.
The ACE Market volume expanded to 334.31 million units valued at RM106.81 million, versus 332.13 million units valued at RM111.47 million yesterday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 257.09 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (224.37 million), construction (68.65 million), technology (159.00 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (67.12 million), property (147.73 million), plantation (18.69 million), REITs (21.77 million), closed end fund (4,000), energy (138.74 million), healthcare (58.45 million), telecommunications and media (46.02 million), transportation and logistics (18.96 million), utilities (76.56 million), and business trusts (60,600).
Meanwhile, Bursa Malaysia and its subsidiaries will be closed tomorrow, June 27, in conjunction with the Awal Muharram public holiday, and will resume operations on Monday, June 30, 2025.