Bursa ends higher, snaps 5-day losing streak

2026-03-03 - 10:53

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index snapped a five-day losing streak to end higher today, recouping part of the previous day’s losses. Gains were driven by banking heavyweights, oil and gas-related counters and renewed buying interest in selected consumer retail stocks, despite weaker performances across the region. IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Sedek Jantan said, despite the recent persistent declines and heightened geopolitical risks, a constructive development emerged in market flows. He added that foreign investors turned net buyers yesterday with inflows of RM271 million, which was among the highest daily net purchases recorded so far in 2026. “This suggests that foreign interest in Malaysian equities has not dissipated despite rising external uncertainty, and may reflect selective accumulation at more attractive valuations. “The recovery, therefore, appears to carry a structural dimension rather than being purely sentiment-driven,” he told Bernama. On a regional comparison, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) outperformed most major Asian indices, many of which remained under pressure amid sustained losses linked to the widening Middle East conflict. “While external risks remain fluid, earnings resilience and returning foreign participation provide a firmer base for near-term stabilisation, although headline-driven volatility is likely to persist should geopolitical tensions escalate further,” said Sedek. Regionally, Singapore’s Straits Times Index was up by 0.53% to 4,916.65, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dipped 1.12% to 25,768.08, Japan’s Nikkei 225 shrank 3.06% to 56,279.05, and South Korea’s KOSPI slumped 7.24% to 5,791.91. At 5pm, the FBM KLCI advanced 11.74 points, or 0.69%, to 1,711.95 from yesterday’s close of 1,700.21. The benchmark index opened 4.02 points higher at 1,704.23, marking the day’s low, and hit an intraday high of 1,715.93 in the late afternoon session. However, market breadth was slightly negative, with 608 decliners outpacing 564 gainers, while 516 counters were unchanged, 936 untraded and 22 suspended. Turnover fell to 3.31 billion units valued at RM3.67 billion from yesterday’s 3.90 billion units valued at RM3.91 billion. Among Bursa’s heavyweights, Maybank bagged 12 sen to RM11.84, Public Bank gained 4 sen to RM4.89, CIMB advanced 8 sen to RM8.02, TNB climbed 10 sen to RM14.38, Hong Leong Bank was flat at RM23.40 and SD Guthrie fell 4 sen to RM5.60. On the most active list, Bumi Armada perked up 3 sen to 38 sen, Velesto rose 1.5 sen to 33 sen, SP Setia was flat at 92 sen, Capital A slid 2 sen to 50 sen and GDB shed 0.5 sen to 37.5 sen. Top gainers included Nestle, which rose 60 sen to RM107.50, Hong Leong Financial Group garnered 30 sen to RM21.42, Hengyuan Refining Company soared 28 sen to RM1.35 and Petronas Dagangan went up 24 sen to RM22.50. As for the top losers, Malaysian Pacific Industries trimmed 58 sen to RM30.42, Panasonic Manufacturing slipped 19 sen to RM7.08, while Allianz Malaysia and Sunway Construction shrank 18 sen each to RM21.74 and RM6.77, respectively. On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased by 71.43 points to 12,552.42, the FBMT 100 Index rose 72.16 points to 12,376.87, the FBM Emas Shariah Index went up 55.25 points to 12,171.85, the FBM 70 Index gained 44 points to 17,358.01 and the FBM ACE Index gained 6.76 points to 4,615.76. By sector, the financial services index jumped 174.44 points to 21,003.54, the industrial products and services index added 0.82 of-a-point to 172.21, the energy index surged 23.94 points to 802.11, and the plantation index was 19.49 points weaker at 8,177.07. The Main Market volume slipped to 2.16 billion units valued at RM3.43 billion versus yesterday’s 2.37 billion units valued at RM3.62 billion. Warrants turnover fell to 824.92 million units worth RM108.24 million from 933.54 million units worth RM105.71 million yesterday. The ACE Market volume dwindled to 328.84 million units valued at RM127.09 million from 586.59 million units valued at RM178.30 million previously. Consumer products and services counters accounted for 274.58 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (291.09 million), construction (168.54 million), technology (185.37 million), financial services (131.68 million), property (361.06 million), plantation (34.83 million), real estate investment trusts (26.13 million), closed-end fund (22,600), energy (438.63 million), healthcare (112.37 million), telecommunications and media (53.87 million), transportation and logistics (43.83 million), utilities (39.29 million) and business trusts (407,800).