Bursa Malaysia opened on a positive note on Wednesday, with the benchmark FBM KLCI edging higher in early trade as gains in the broader market outpaced losses.
At 9.30am, the FBM KLCI rose 0.68 points, or 0.04%, to 1,720.62 after opening at 1,720.66. The benchmark traded between 1,720.06 and 1,724.83 during the early session.
The broader market also remained firm, with the FBM Emas Index adding 20.49 points, or 0.16%, to 12,682.42, while the FBM Top 100 Index gained 18.08 points to 12,516.74. The FBM 70 Index outperformed, rising 81.99 points, or 0.46%, to 17,879.01, while the FBM Small Cap Index advanced 63.92 points, or 0.41%, to 15,621.67.
Among sectoral indices, the Construction Index climbed 0.29% to 280.56, the Consumer Products and Services Index gained 0.27% to 499.39 and the Energy Index edged up 0.10% to 774.46.
Tanco Holdings was the most actively traded stock, surging nine sen to 40.5 sen on heavy volume. Newly listed Enest Group remained actively traded but slipped 1.5 sen to 11.5 sen after making its ACE Market debut earlier in the session. PA Resources gained two sen to 20.5 sen, while VS Industry and NationGate Holdings also featured among the day’s most active counters.
On the gainers list, Malaysian Pacific Industries led the way, rising 48 sen to RM44.88, followed by Nestlé Malaysia, which added 36 sen to RM90.86. Fraser & Neave gained 26 sen to RM29.54, Allianz Malaysia rose 14 sen to RM20.78 and Hong Leong Industries advanced 12 sen to RM18.86.
Meanwhile, Petronas Gas was the biggest loser, falling 24 sen to RM17.64. Press Metal Aluminium declined nine sen to RM8.10, Petronas Chemicals shed seven sen to RM4.72, Hong Leong Bank eased six sen to RM22.18 and Gas Malaysia lost four sen to RM5.16.
