Bursa closes at intraday high, lifted by utilities and petrochemicals

Bursa Malaysia closed at an intraday high on Wednesday, stimulated by increased interest in utility and petrochemical stocks as crude oil prices neared US$90 per barrel. By 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI had climbed 10.15 points, or 0.59%, to 1,741.61, up from yesterday's closing of 1,731.46. Sedek Jantan, IPPFA Sdn Bhd's director of investment strategy and country economist, attributed the KLCI's rise to gains in utilities and petrochemical stocks, noting that the performance aligned with the recent market trend of investors shifting towards commodity-linked sectors.

Elevated oil prices bolstered the earnings outlook for energy-related counters, he added. However, the strong crude oil prices negatively impacted broader regional sentiment, with most Asian equity markets finishing lower as investors weighed the effect of higher energy costs on inflation, interest rates, and corporate earnings.

The benchmark index started the day 0.01 points higher at 1,731.47, before dipping to a low of 1,728.64 early in the trading session before rebounding and ending at its intraday peak. Broad market gainers outpaced losers 661 to 512, with 600 counters remaining unchanged, 1,014 shares untraded, and 13 suspended. Trading volume rose to 3.70 billion units valued at RM3.27 billion from 3.43 billion units valued at RM2.94 billion the previous day.

Among the top gainers were Maybank, Public Bank, CIMB Group, Tenaga Nasional, and IHH Healthcare, while most active stocks included Dagang NeXchange, Nexgram Holdings, Zetrix AI, Top Glove Corporation, and VS Industry. Notable top losers were Malaysian Pacific Industries, Hong Leong Industries, Ideal Capital, THMY Holdings, and Batu Kawan.

Sector-wise, the financial services index climbed 25.82 points to 20,400.03, the industrial products and services index rose 2.38 points to 190.35, and the energy index increased 12.52 points to 785.74.