KUALA LUMPUR, April 20 — Bursa Malaysia closed higher today, supported by buying interest in large-cap stocks as investors shifted toward defensive counters amid rising geopolitical uncertainty.
At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 7.09 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 1,702.30 from last Friday’s close of 1,695.21.
The benchmark index opened 1.71 points lower at 1,693.50, and moved between 1,689.00 and 1,703.64 during the day.
In the broader market, losers outpaced gainers 657 to 500, while 572 counters were unchanged, 1,029 untraded and 24 suspended.
Turnover decreased to 3.03 billion units valued at RM2.92 billion from 3.46 billion units valued at RM3.08 billion last Friday.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said market sentiment turned more cautious following reports of a US seizure of an Iranian cargo vessel.
“This has cast fresh doubt over the fragile West Asia peace process and raised concerns over a potential reclosure of the Strait of Hormuz.
“Despite the escalation, regional sentiment remained relatively resilient, with Asian equities advancing as investors looked beyond near term tensions towards prospects of renewed diplomatic engagement, alongside continued strength in the technology sector,” he told Bernama.
Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking garnered 24 sen to RM11.34, CIMB Group rose 12 sen to RM7.59, Tenaga Nasional added eight sen to RM14.40, IHH Healthcare improved five sen to RM8.78, while Public Bank edged up one sen to RM4.69.
On the most active list, Zetrix AI ticked up two sen to 85.5 sen, Inari Amertron climbed 12 sen to RM1.77, NexG perked up two sen to 26.5 sen, while AirAsia X and Empire Premium Food slipped three sen each to RM1.30 and RM1.01 respectively.
Among the top gainers, Fraser & Neave jumped 46 sen to RM31.46, Bintulu Port surged 24 sen to RM5.59, Petronas Gas and Malaysian Pacific Industries gained 20 sen each to RM18.22 and RM34.20, respectively, while Hong Leong Bank rose 18 sen to RM22.40.
As for the top losers, Nestle declined RM1.00 to RM98.00, United Plantations dipped 58 sen to RM33.60, Petronas Dagangan lost 38 sen to RM20.20, Allianz Malaysia slid 30 sen to RM20.90, and PPB Group fell 26 sen to RM11.40.
On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index rose 32.57 points to 12,383.78, the FBM Emas Index gained 25.18 points to 12,543.35, the FBM Mid 70 Index declined 35.15 points to 17,688.58, the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 24.39 points to 12,423.67, and the FBM ACE Index slid 16.67 points to 4,582.98.
By sector, the Financial Services Index soared 202.77 points to 20,017.45, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 1.32 points to 186.72, the Energy Index fell 9.71 points to 806.06, and the Plantation Index dipped 56.54 points to 8,872.12.
The Main Market volume declined to 1.68 billion units valued at RM2.61 billion from 2.11 billion units valued at RM2.81 billion last Friday.
Warrants turnover increased to 959.07 million units worth RM144.65 million from 871.58 million units worth RM107.56 million previously.
The ACE Market volume dwindled to 385.58 million units valued at RM160.66 million compared to 484.07 million units valued at RM160.36 million on Friday last week.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 265.37 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (250.74 million), construction (147.20 million), technology (419.04 million), financial services (79.57 million), property (120.37 million), plantation (27.12 million), real estate investment trusts (16.48 million), closed-end fund (20,600), energy (153.99 million), healthcare (109.78 million), telecommunications and media (39.23 million), transportation and logistics (21.96 million), utilities (34.78 million), and business trusts (47,000). — Bernama