Bursa Malaysia Ends Higher On Positive Regional Sentiment

By Durratul Ain Ahmad Fuad

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended higher today, in line with gains across major Asian markets following Wall Street’s overnight technology-led rally, although elevated US Treasury yields continued to temper risk appetite.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 1.60 points to 1,633.35 from Monday’s close of 1,631.75.

The benchmark index, which opened 4.63 points higher at 1,636.38, moved between 1,632.77 and 1,641.20 throughout the trading session.

On the broader market, gainers surpassed decliners 667 to 456, while 551 counters were unchanged, 1,108 untraded and 13 suspended.

Turnover decreased to 4.18 billion units worth RM2.95 billion, compared with 4.78 billion units worth RM2.89 billion yesterday.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the US 10-year Treasury yield touched 5.349 per cent, its highest since 2002, while the 30-year yield briefly reached 5.703 per cent.

At the close on Monday, the S&P 500 gained 0.66 per cent to 7,773.95 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.05 per cent to 27,477.31.

“On a positive note, Brent crude oil eased below US$100 per barrel as resilient West Asia exports and the Group of Seven’s (G7) emergency stockpile release helped alleviate supply concerns,” he told Bernama. 

Domestically, he said buying interest was seen in telecommunications and commodity-related stocks, while trading activity also broadened to selected small-cap technology, energy and plantation counters. 

“We believe selected blue chips could continue to attract bargain hunting following last week’s sharp correction.

“However, the lack of follow-through buying over the past three sessions suggests investors remain cautious, with persistent foreign selling and elevated bond yields likely to limit the pace of recovery,” he said. 

Meanwhile, Thong said easing crude oil prices and expectations surrounding Budget 2027 should provide some support to sentiment.

“The Budget will be tabled on Friday, with strategic sectors including semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), digitalisation, energy transition, pharmaceuticals, logistics, and aerospace among the areas highlighted by the government,” he said.

For the rest of the week, he expects the benchmark index to remain in consolidation mode, with a mild recovery bias as oversold conditions provide some downside support.

“Nevertheless, a stronger recovery may require fresh catalysts, with Budget 2027, foreign fund flows, bond yields and geopolitical developments remaining key factors to watch.

“We maintain our FBM KLCI trading range of 1,620-1,650 for the week,” he added. 

Among the heavyweights, IHH Healthcare gained 15 sen to RM7.91, while Maybank and CIMB eased three sen each to RM9.97 and RM7.70, Public Bank shed four sen to RM4.67, and Tenaga Nasional slipped 10 sen to RM12.90. 

In active trade, Zetrix AI and Supermax improved 2.5 sen to nine sen and 46 sen, respectively, Top Glove put on nine sen to 87.5 sen, V.S Industry inched up one sen to 33 sen, while ACE Market debutant SLGC slid three sen to 25 sen. 

Among the top gainers, Malaysian Pacific Industries increased RM1.56 to RM44.96, Nestle rose RM1.26 to RM91.26, Pentamaster leapt 64 sen to RM6.08, Mi Technovation jumped 59 sen to RM6.00, and Kuala Lumpur Kepong improved 46 sen to RM21.32. 

Top losers were led by Dutch Lady Milk Industries, which declined 30 sen to RM29.70, Allianz fell 18 sen to RM20.62, TIME dotCom trimmed 16 sen to RM5.45, while Mega First Corporation and Ayer Holdings shaved off 15 sen each to RM2.85 and RM7.55, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Mid 70 Index surged 190.62 points to 17,734.11, the FBM Emas Index gained 42.52 points to 12,232.87, the FBM Top 100 Index went up 42.40 points to 12,015.78, the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 89.97 points to 12,158.98, and the FBM ACE Index leapt 52.31 points to 5,658.92.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 1.44 points to 180.41, but the Financial Services Index shrank 72.14 points to 19,068.0, while the Energy Index climbed 10.78 points to 840.72, and the Plantation Index soared 111.14 points to 9,042.17.

The Main Market volume slid to 2.59 billion units worth RM2.50 billion from 3.13 billion units worth RM2.41 billion on Monday.

Warrants turnover fell to 932.44 million units worth RM171.80 million from 1.04 billion units worth RM208.20 million yesterday.

The ACE Market volume improved to 653.91 million units valued at RM276.54 million from 611.02 million units valued at RM267.66 million previously.

Meanwhile, consumer products and services counters accounted for 204.53 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (298.70 million), construction (102.12 million), technology (1.32 billion), financial services (58.39 million), property (113.14 million), plantation (17.37 million), real estate investment trusts (12.12 million), closed-end fund (45,000), energy (69.91 million), healthcare (294.68 million), telecommunications and media (25.52 million), transportation and logistics (38.51 million), utilities (36.68 million), and business trusts (59,700).

-- BERNAMA