KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 — Bursa Malaysia ended at its intraday high today, buoyed by buying interest in utilities and petrochemical stocks amid elevated crude oil prices.

At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 10.15 points, or 0.59 per cent, to 1,741.61 compared with yesterday’s close of 1,731.46.

The benchmark index opened 0.01 of a point higher at 1,731.47 and subsequently hit a low of 1,728.64 in early trade before gaining momentum for the rest of the day. Late buying drove the index to end at its intraday high.

On the broader market, gainers beat losers 661 to 512, while 600 counters were unchanged, 1,014 untraded and 13 suspended.

Turnover increased to 3.70 billion units valued at RM3.27 billion from 3.43 billion units valued at RM2.94 billion on Tuesday.  

IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said the FBM KLCI closed higher, supported by gains in utilities and petrochemical stocks as crude oil prices approached US$90 per barrel.

He said the performance was broadly in line with the market’s recent trend, as investors continued to rotate into commodity-linked sectors, with elevated oil prices strengthening the earnings outlook for energy-related counters.

“This sectoral rotation has become increasingly evident over the past two months as geopolitical risks kept energy prices elevated.

“However, higher crude oil prices weighed on broader regional sentiment, with most Asian equity markets ending lower as investors reassessed the impact of elevated energy costs on inflation, interest rates and corporate earnings,” he said.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank added four sen to RM10.60, Public Bank was flat at RM5.19, CIMB Group gained three sen to RM7.92, Tenaga Nasional advanced 24 sen to RM14.58, while IHH Healthcare was unchanged at RM8.35.

On the most active list, Dagang NeXchange rose 3.5 sen to 53 sen, Nexgram Holdings perked up half a sen to six sen, Zetrix AI put on 2.5 sen to 74 sen, Top Glove Corporation edged up half a sen to 66.5 sen, and VS Industry eased half a sen to 24 sen.

Among the top gainers, United Plantations rose 40 sen to RM33.60, Nestle gained 30 sen to RM102.90, UMS Integration advanced 28 sen to RM8.15, Hengyuan Refining jumped 25 sen to RM1.95, and Petronas Chemicals garnered 21 sen to RM4.65.

Among the top losers, Malaysian Pacific Industries erased 60 sen to RM47.50, Hong Leong Industries slipped 34 sen to RM17.64, Ideal Capital sank 17 sen to RM3.50, THMY Holdings tumbled 15 sen to RM1.86, and Batu Kawan slid 14 sen to RM20.74.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased 64.47 points to 12,918.70, the FBMT 100 Index garnered 62.00 points to 12,728.83, the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 66.70 points to 12,770.88, the FBM 70 Index climbed 37.89 points to 18,435.81, and the FBM ACE Index rose 34.21 points to 5,203.43.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index grew 25.82 points to 20,400.03, the Industrial Products and Services Index gained 2.38 points to 190.35, and the Energy Index put on 12.52 points to 785.74, while the Plantation Index declined 15.66 points to 9,468.34.

The Main Market volume improved to 1.94 billion units valued at RM2.90 billion compared to 1.61 billion units valued at RM2.59 billion on Tuesday. 

Warrants turnover slid to 1.08 billion units worth RM140.95 million versus 1.23 billion units worth RM157.60 million previously.

The ACE Market volume expanded to 668.48 million units valued at RM227.01 million from 589.47 million units valued at RM184.37 million yesterday.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 210.36 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (362.18 million), construction (116.34 million), technology (594.64 million), financial services (66.75 million), property (133.99 million), plantation (42.79 million), real estate investment trusts (15.38 million), closed-end fund (315,900), energy (109.89 million), healthcare (116.53 million), telecommunications and media (53.21 million), transportation and logistics (51.18 million), utilities (74.95 million), and business trusts (165,300). — Bernama