Last-minute buying lifted Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index, reversing earlier losses as higher oil prices boosted sentiment for energy and chemical-related counters.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said regional markets remained under pressure following negative cues from Wall Street, compounded by surging oil prices, mixed earnings, and a cautious US Federal Reserve stance.
Thong said Brent crude continued to hover above US$120 (RM476.40) per barrel amid the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
It was reported that US president Donald Trump warned Iran that the US naval blockade at the Strait of Hormuz could last months.
Regionally, Singapore’s Straits Times Index increased 1.06% to 4,912.69, Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbled 1.06% to 59,284.92, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 1.28% to 25,776.53, and South Korea’s KOSPI dipped 1.38% to 6,598.87.
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased 1.60 points, or 0.09%, to 1,722.02 from yesterday’s close of 1,720.42.
The benchmark index opened marginally lower at 1,720.23 and moved between a low of 1,712.14 and a high of 1,722.03 throughout the day.
Market breadth, however, was negative, with losers trouncing gainers 816 to 360.
A total of 546 counters were unchanged, 950 were untraded and 77 were suspended.
Turnover declined to 2.91 billion units worth RM3.21 billion compared with 3.63 billion units worth RM3.13 billion yesterday.
Among heavyweights, Maybank gained 4 sen to RM11.08, and IHH Healthcare was 1 sen higher at RM8.82. Public Bank fell 7 sen to RM4.68, Tenaga Nasional dropped 6 sen to RM14.54 and CIMB lost 3 sen to RM7.66.
On the most active list, Zetrix AI shaved off 3.5 sen to 82 sen, Econpile slid 2 sen to 14.5 sen, and UEM Sunrise trimmed 4 sen to 64.5 sen. Borneo Oil inched up 0.5 sen to 1 sen while VS Industry was flat at 21 sen.
Among the top gainers, Nestle advanced RM5.50 to RM108.40, KL Kepong increased 66 sen to RM21.22, LPI jumped 44 sen to RM14.84, Petronas Chemicals rose 26 sen to RM5.92 and MISC garnered 24 sen to RM8.37.
Among the top losers, MPI dipped RM1.38 to RM36.62, United Plantations slipped 26 sen to RM31.74, Fraser & Neave dropped 22 sen to RM31.30, Hong Leong Bank sank 20 sen to RM22.26 and Sunway Construction shed 18 sen to RM6.85.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index slid 19.46 points to 12,723.74, the FBM Top 100 Index declined 10.79 points to 12,560.83, the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 10.52 points to 12,718.36, the FBM Mid 70 Index slumped 112.12 points to 18,085.97, and the FBM ACE Index slipped 45.38 points to 4,618.11.
By sector, the energy index slid 4.39 points to 840.67, the financial services index fell 99.78 points to 19,885.03, while the industrial products and services index gained 1.18 points to 196.31, and the plantation index soared 121.52 points to 8,939.31.
The Main Market volume slid to 1.83 billion units valued at RM2.99 billion from 2.23 billion units valued at RM2.86 billion yesterday.
Warrants turnover tumbled to 771.93 million units worth RM101.99 million from 1.05 billion units worth RM134.02 million previously.
The ACE Market volume slipped to 308.47 million units valued at RM114.03 million from 342.76 million units valued at RM131.74 million yesterday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 190.39 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (355.60 million), construction (199.23 million), technology (307.26 million), financial services (70.78 million), property (229.75 million), plantation (42.70 million), real estate investment trusts (17.28 million), closed-end fund (18,100), energy (161.07 million), healthcare (90.04 million), telecommunications and media (45.70 million), transportation and logistics (80.50 million), utilities (47.41 million) and business trusts (10,783).
Meanwhile, Bursa and its subsidiaries will be closed on May 1, 2026, in conjunction with the Labour Day public holiday.
The stock exchange and its subsidiaries will resume operations on May 4, 2026.
