KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 — Bursa Malaysia ended the week marginally higher, supported by strong gains in selected heavyweight stocks led by healthcare and construction sectors, in line with the generally positive performance across regional markets.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 1.76 points to 1,712.65 from Thursday’s close of 1,710.89.

The market bellwether opened 1.84 points higher at 1,712.73 and moved between 1,708.45 and 1,716.28.

Market breadth, however, was negative with losers beating gainers 584 to 409. A total of 592 counters were unchanged, 1,207 untraded and 137 suspended.

Turnover declined to 2.97 billion units worth RM3.25 billion from yesterday’s 3.0 billion units worth RM3.14 billion.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said investors remained cautious and refrained from taking fresh long positions amid unresolved geopolitical tensions in West Asia.

He said market activity remained cautious and selective, with investors positioning in defensive and commodity-linked plays as a hedge against external risks.

Meanwhile, IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said at the regional level, increasing policy responses across Asia Pacific to stabilise financial markets and support liquidity may provide a degree of indirect support to sentiment.

“Overall, market breadth remains stable, reinforcing the view that the current phase is one of consolidation rather than outright risk-off, with investors maintaining a tactical stance while awaiting clearer macroeconomic and geopolitical signals,” he said.

Among heavyweights, Sunway Healthcare climbed 8.0 sen to RM2.37, Petronas Gas jumped 80 sen to RM18.42, Maybank and YTL Corporation added two sen each to RM11.46 and RM1.67, respectively, while CIMB lost 11 sen to RM7.70.

On the most active list, VS Industry fell five sen to 23.5 sen, Zetrix AI decreased half-a-sen to 73.5 sen, Velesto Energy slid 1.5 sen to 33 sen, while Pharmaniaga rose one sen to 25 sen.

Among top gainers, Fraser & Neave and Nestle, which put on RM1.06 each to RM30.76 and RM99.06 respectively, Sunway Bhd jumped 24 sen to RM5.47, Gas Malaysia added 16 sen to RM5.83, and IOI Properties gained 15 sen to RM3.47.

As for top losers, Mega Fortris tumbled 23.5 sen to 76.5 sen, Hong Leong Bank slipped 20 sen to RM22.30, UWC lost 16 sen to RM4.08, and United Plantations fell 14 sen to RM33.46.

On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index increased 15.28 points to 12,337.50, the FBM Emas Index put on 6.81 points to 12,465.26, the FBM 70 Index climbed 32.32 points to 17,098.79, the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 42.66 points to 12,272.19, while the FBM ACE Index sank 27.31 points to 4,327.45.

By sector, the Financial Services Index shrank 102.63 points to 20,327.50, the Industrial Products and Services Index perked up 0.17 of-a-point to 182.89, the Energy Index declined 7.97 points to 798.29, and the Plantation Index rose 48.02 points to 8,704.97.

The Main Market volume improved

to 1.89 billion units valued at RM3.05 billion from 1.83 billion units valued at RM2.90 billion on Thursday.

Warrants turnover slipped to 818.64 million units worth RM109.49 million from 893.33 million units worth RM126.61 million previously.

The ACE Market volume decreased to 255.80 million units valued at RM88.32 million from 277.72 million units valued at RM113.46 million yesterday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 183.60 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (406.48 million), construction (211.33 million), technology (166.88 million), financial services (90.24 million), property (130.89 million), plantation (59.01 million), real estate investment trusts (30.13 million), closed-end fund (27,000), energy (235.11 million), healthcare (278.63 million), telecommunications and media (36.29 million), transportation and logistics (36.02 million), utilities (31.06 million), and business trusts (175,800). — Bernama