Bursa Malaysia Higher At Midday On Stronger-Than-Expected 2Q GDP
KUALA LUMPUR, July 17 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia turned higher at midday, buoyed by advance estimates of the second quarter 2026 gross domestic product, which expanded by 5.8 per cent, following the 5.4 per cent growth in the preceding quarter.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 4.62 points to 1,726.81 from Thursday’s close of 1,722.19.
The FBM KLCI, which opened 2.33 points weaker at 1,719.86, moved between 1,719.56 and 1,728.20 during the morning trading session.
However, on the broader market, losers surpassed gainers 618 to 347, while 468 counters were unchanged, 1,302 untraded and 12 suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.92 billion units worth RM1.33 billion.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of Equity Research Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI regained its uptrend to end above the 1,720 level after a brief correction in early trade.
“We noticed foreign funds are back on domestic stocks, but overall trading activities remained rather muted. Nonetheless, we expect the index to trend within the 1,715-1,730 range today,” he said.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank gained 18 sen to RM11.22, Public Bank added three sen to RM5.23, CIMB was nine sen firmer at RM7.79, while Tenaga Nasional was flat at RM14.30, but IHH Healthcare lost 13 sen to RM8.40.
As for the active stocks, Tanco rose two sen to 34 sen, Ekovest added one sen to 21 sen, Nationgate slid seven sen to RM1.10, Dagang Nexchange eased two sen to 44.5 sen and VS Industry was half a sen weaker at 23 sen.
Of the top gainers, Hong Leong Bank increased 32 sen to RM22.34, Padini added 16 sen to RM1.58, Hong Leong Financial up 14 sen to RM18.82, while Petronas Chemicals gained 13 sen to RM4.71.
Malaysian Pacific Industries led the losers list, falling RM1 to RM44.28, while Nestle decreased 84 sen to RM92.16, United Plantations shed 48 sen to RM34.52 and UMS Integration was down 32 sen to RM7.71.
Among the broader indices, the FBM Emas Index rose by 3.95 points to 12,703.17, and the FBMT 100 Index gained 8.71 points to 12,538.32.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 44.86 points to 12,476.41, the FBM 70 Index slipped 94.10 points to 17,809.40, while the FBM ACE Index narrowed 14.63 points to 4,900.48.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index surged 179.79 points to 20,490.61, the Industrial Products and Services Index lowered 0.82 of a point to 187.11, and the Plantation Index weakened 48.48 points to 9,425.29, while the Energy Index edged down 2.06 points to 767.83.
-- BERNAMA