Bursa Malaysia ends at intraday high lifted by utilities, petrochemical stocks

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia concluded its trading day at an intraday peak on Wednesday, propelled by buying activity in utilities and petrochemical stocks as crude oil prices soared. At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI index climbed 10.15 points, or 0.59%, to 1,741.61, up from its previous close of 1,731.46. Initially opening 0.01 point higher at 1,731.47, the benchmark index experienced a low of 1,728.64 early in the day before rising throughout the remainder of trading. Late buying fueled the index's ascent to its highest intraday level.

In the wider market, winners outpaced losers 661 to 512, while 600 stocks remained flat, 1,014 were untraded, and 13 were suspended. Trading volume surged to 3.70 billion units, valued at RM3.27 billion, from 3.43 billion units, valued at RM2.94 billion on the previous day. Mohd Sedek Jantan, director of investment strategy and country economist at IPPFA Sdn Bhd, attributed the KLCI's higher close to gains in utilities and petrochemical stocks, driven by crude oil prices nearing US$90 per barrel.

He stated that the performance mirrored the market's recent pattern, with investors continuing to shift into commodity-linked sectors, and high oil prices bolstering the earnings outlook for energy-related companies. This trend has intensified over the past two months due to ongoing geopolitical risks, which have kept energy prices elevated.

Among the prominent index constituents, Maybank increased to RM10.60, Public Bank remained flat at RM5.19, CIMB Group rose to RM7.92, Tenaga Nasional advanced to RM14.58, while IHH Healthcare stayed unchanged at RM8.35. On the most actively traded stocks, Dagang NeXchange rose to 53 sen, Nexgram Holdings increased to 6 sen, Zetrix AI added 2.5 sen to 74 sen, Top Glove Corporation climbed to 66.5 sen, and VS Industry fell to 24 sen. Among the top gainers, United Plantations surged to RM33.60, Nestle increased to RM102.90, UMS Integration advanced to RM8.15, Hengyuan Refining jumped to RM1.95, and Petronas Chemicals gained to RM4.65.

Among the top losers, Malaysian Pacific Industries dropped to RM47.50, Hong Leong Industries fell to RM17.64, Ideal Capital decreased to RM3.50, THMY Holdings fell to RM1.86, and Batu Kawan reduced to RM20.74.