Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said key regional indices also ended higher, supported by strong gains in AI-related and technology stocks, as investors continued to rotate into growth sectors amid improving global risk appetite.
Thong remains cautiously optimistic on the local market, supported by selective accumulation in blue chips and the improving market tone.
“However, sentiment is likely to stay measured as geopolitical tensions in West Asia remain unresolved and could lead to sudden shifts in market direction,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Sedek Jantan said Malaysia Manufacturing PMI, which reached a four-year high, points to a strengthening in underlying activity and, more importantly, an improvement in business confidence.
“This suggests the recovery is becoming more durable rather than purely cyclical, supporting a rotation into mid- and small-cap segments that are more leveraged to domestic demand,” he said.
Furthermore, he said the firmer tone was underpinned by improving global risk sentiment following strong earnings delivery from the US technology sector, which continues to reinforce confidence in the resilience of the global earnings cycle.
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 17.75 points, or 1.03%, to close at 1,739.77 from Thursday’s close of 1,722.02.
The benchmark index, which opened 6.72 points firmer at 1,728.74, hit its lowest level of 1,725.01 in early trade before gaining momentum for the rest of the day.
Market breadth was positive with gainers leading losers 668 to 494. A total of 582 counters were unchanged, 877 untraded, and 24 suspended.
Turnover increased to 3.05 billion units worth RM2.55 billion compared with 2.91 billion units worth RM3.21 billion on Thursday.
Among heavyweights, Maybank rose 20 sen to RM11.28, Public Bank added seven sen to RM4.75, Tenaga Nasional gained 26 sen to RM14.80, CIMB increased three sen to RM7.69 and IHH Healthcare climbed five sen to RM8.87.
On the most active list, Zetrix AI gained four sen to 86 sen, Pegasus was flat at 0.5 sen, Malaysian Resources Corp rose two sen to 36.5 sen, GIIB was five sen firmer at 16 sen, and VS Industry shed 0.5 sen to 20.5 sen.
Among the top gainers, Malaysian Pacific Industries garnered RM1.38 to RM38, Hong Leong Industries gained 38 sen to RM17.70, KESM increased 32 sen to RM4.40 and Vitrox jumped 31 sen to RM5.76.
Among the top losers, Nestle slipped RM4.60 to RM103.80, Fraser & Neave dropped RM1.28 to RM30.02, United Plantations slid RM1.22 to RM30.52 and PPB eased 26 sen to RM11.26.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index surged 124.02 points to 12,847.77, the FBM Top 100 Index soared 128.21 points to 12,689.04, the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 106.09 points to 12,824.45, the FBM Mid 70 Index leapt 179.24 points to 18,265.21, and the FBM ACE Index perked up 17.95 points to 4,636.06.
By sector, the energy index fell 2.96 points to 837.71, the financial services index soared 205.29 points to 20,090.32, while the industrial products and services index eased 0.09 of-a-point to 196.22, and the plantation index climbed 34.46 points to 8,973.77.
The Main Market volume slipped to 1.74 billion units valued at RM2.27 billion from 1.83 billion units valued at RM2.99 billion on Thursday.
Warrants turnover expanded to 918.52 million units worth RM146.22 million from 771.93 million units worth RM101.99 million previously.
The ACE Market volume increased to 388.84 million units valued at RM132.46 million from 308.47 million units valued at RM114.03 million last Thursday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 170.83 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (387.21 million), construction (165.91 million), technology (346.47 million), financial services (49.7 million), property (318.86 million), plantation (31.68 million), real estate investment trusts (17.47 million), closed-end fund (18,400), energy (83.55 million), healthcare (58.78 million), telecommunications and media (34.32 million), transportation and logistics (37.19 million), utilities (41.45 million), and business trusts (31,800).