The market closed on a firmer note with positive breadth, as advancing stocks comfortably outpaced decliners in a session driven by selective buying across consumer, plantation and banking counters.
Breadth remained strongly positive, with gainers trouncing losers 633 to 372. A total of 533 counters were unchanged, 1,112 were untraded, while 12 were suspended.
Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd led the gainers’ list, rising 88 sen to RM28.98 on 666 lots, supported by continued defensive buying interest. Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd climbed 74 sen to RM21.70 on 7,541 lots, reflecting sustained momentum in plantation heavyweight counters.
Batu Kawan Bhd advanced 54 sen to RM21.64 on 632 lots, while Hong Leong Bank Bhd added 48 sen to RM21.82 on 4,240 lots, underscoring steady demand in financials. Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd rounded out the top gainers, rising 34 sen to RM32.40 on 585 lots.
On the downside, Nestlé (M) Bhd led the decliners, 80 sen to RM91.20 on 746 lots as investors locked in gains in defensive names. Other decliners for the trading session include United Plantations Bhd, which fell 36 sen to RM33.12 on 1,030 lots, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, which slipped 28 sen to RM47.78 on 1,366 lots, Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd declined 11 sen to RM5.89 on 2,055 lots and Sunway Construction Group Bhd eased 10 sen to RM7.40 on 3,106 lots.
Overall sentiment remained constructive, with broad-based buying in heavyweight stocks offsetting selective profit-taking across defensive and export-linked sectors.
