KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 — Bursa Malaysia rebounded to close higher on Wednesday on selective buying of defensive stocks after a volatile trading session.

IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said consumer products and services stocks lifted the key index higher, overcoming lingering geopolitical concerns.

At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.08 points to 1,715.56 from yesterday’s close of 1,712.48. The benchmark index, which opened 1.91 points higher at 1,714.39, moved between 1,710.79 and 1,720.59 during the day’s trading.

In the broader market, gainers outstripped decliners 550 to 476, while 612 counters were unchanged, 1,129 untraded, and 48 suspended.

Turnover rose to 2.96 billion units valued at RM2.48 billion from 2.94 billion units valued at RM2.56 billion on Tuesday.

Sedek noted that telecommunications stocks were also the primary drivers of the benchmark’s gains, supported by a relatively defensive earnings outlook. However, he said the market sentiment remained cautious following reports of Iranian missile strikes on US military facilities, which renewed concerns over the conflict in West Asia and brought energy security back into investors’ focus.

“While Brent crude prices have eased from their recent peaks, the geopolitical landscape remains unpredictable, limiting broader risk appetite,” he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, he said investors also adopted a wait-and-see approach ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s policy announcement and quarterly earnings from major US technology companies, with markets looking for confirmation that substantial AI-related capital expenditure was translating into stronger earnings and sustainable long-term growth.

Among the heavyweight counters, CIMB Group added five sen to RM7.81, and IHH Healthcare rose one sen to RM8.35, while Maybank and Public Bank slid four sen each to RM10.86 and RM5.15, respectively. Tenaga Nasional edged down six sen to RM14.60.

As for the active stocks, Zetrix AI and VS Industry gained 1.5 sen each to 70.5 sen and 23.5 sen respectively, while Velesto Energy remained flat at 24.5 sen.  Tanco Holdings and HHRG inched down half a sen each to 25.5 sen and 13.5 sen, respectively. 

Among the top gainers, Nestle surged RM3.12 to RM96.78, United Plantations added RM1 to RM34,  and Kuala Lumpur Kepong gained 22 sen to RM20.76. Hong Leong Industries strengthened 22 sen to RM18.10, and Vitrox jumped 19 sen to RM8.05.

SAM Engineering & Equipment led the losers list, falling 26 sen to RM4.24, while Hong Leong Bank shed 26 sen to RM24.04, and UMS Integration lost 22 sen to RM7.  

Concrete Engineering Products declined 14 sen to RM3.46, and Sarawak Oil Palms slipped 10 sen to RM5.10. 

Among the broader indices, the FBM Emas Index rose 31.09 points to 12,672.81, the FBMT 100 Index added 30.78 points to 12,507.17, and the FBM Mid 70 Index increased 79.77 points to 17,981.63.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index recovered 47.84 points to 12,505.37, and the FBM ACE Index expanded 38.42 points to 4,924.71.

By sector, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.86 of a point to 186.33, and the Plantation Index accumulated 70.33 points to 9,301.92, while the Financial Services Index dropped 37.49 points to 20,216.97 and the Energy Index fell 2.74 points to 760.68.

The Main Market volume declined to 1.32 billion units valued at RM2.16 billion compared to 1.51 billion units valued at RM2.27 billion on Tuesday.

Warrant turnover expanded to 1.16 billion units worth RM148.38 million versus 978.15 million units worth RM126.23 million previously.

The ACE Market volume leapt to 478.75 million units valued at RM173.06 million from 452.85 million units valued at RM159.81 million yesterday.Consumer products and services counters accounted for 176.83 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (273.73 million), construction (87.58 million), technology (251.03 million), financial services (49.73 million), property (160.54 million), plantation (36.70 million), real estate investment trusts (20.89 million), closed-end fund (900,271), energy (108.85 million), healthcare (75.86 million), telecommunications and media (27.54 million), transportation and logistics (28.40 million), utilities (27.64 million), and business trusts (nil). — Bernama