Bursa Malaysia extended its gains at midday, tracking stronger regional markets and Wall Street’s overnight rally, with buying interest in heavyweight banking and utility stocks lifting sentiment.
At 12:30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) climbed 9.91 points, or 0.59%, to 1,693.54 from its close of 1,683.63 on June 12.
Broader market indices also advanced, with the FBM 70 surging 205.40 points to 18,089.54, the FBM Emas gained 94.39 points to 12,569.01, the FBM Sha increased 52.88 points to 12,475.18 and the F4GBM edged up 7.65 points to 1,018.79.
Market breadth remained firmly positive, with gainers outpacing losers 681 to 420. A total of 3.04 billion shares valued at RM1.79 billion changed hands.
Heavyweights led the charge, with Maybank adding 16 sen to RM10.88, CIMB rising 22 sen to RM7.61, Public Bank gaining six sen to RM4.89 and TNB advancing 18 sen to RM14.60.
Among top gainers, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd jumped RM1.44 to RM48.94, followed by UMS Integration Limited surged 58 sen to RM8.60 and SAM Engineering & Equipment (M) Bhd gained 55 sen to RM4.90).
On the downside, Paragon Union Bhd shed 98 sen to RM2.29, while Nestlé (M) Bhd slipped 76 sen to RM94.84. Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd also came under pressure, losing 50 sen and 40 sen respectively.
Trading activity, meanwhile, was dominated by Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd, with over 410 million shares traded, followed by Tanco Holdings Bhd, newly ACE Market debutant Pentech Holdings Bhd, Zetrix AI Bhd and Dagang NeXchange Bhd.
The upbeat midday performance reflects improving risk appetite across the region, with investors taking cues from the positive lead on Wall Street while continuing to accumulate selected blue-chip counters.
