KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 — Bursa Malaysia’s key index ended higher today, recovering from early losses to remain above the 1,600-point level, supported by selective bargain hunting in telecommunications and commodity-related heavyweights despite continued weakness in technology stocks.

Regional markets were mixed as investors reassessed technology earnings prospects and the sustainability of substantial artificial intelligence (AI)-related investments, while Brent crude fell more than three per cent to around US$110 (RM447.78) per barrel amid hopes of easing West Asia tensions following diplomatic efforts involving Iran and Qatar, said Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said.

At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.91 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 1,619.51 from last Friday’s close of 1,615.60.

The benchmark index, which opened 2.39 points easier at 1,613.21, moved between 1,607.15 and 1,623.33 throughout the day.

In the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 774 to 323, while 501 counters were unchanged, 1,125 untraded, and 11 suspended.

Turnover decreased to 2.65 billion units worth RM2.10 billion from last Friday’s 3.15 billion units worth RM2.68 billion.

Thong said the local market remained resilient, supported by selective buying in fundamentally sound blue-chip stocks, although its recovery could be gradual amid uncertainties surrounding US interest rates and foreign fund flows.

He said investors would also be watching the US mid-term elections and Bank Negara Malaysia’s monetary policy decision on Thursday (Nov 5).

“We expect the FBM KLCI to trade within 1,600-1,630 range this week, with a mild upward bias, although a sustained move above 1,620-1,630 would require stronger buying participation,” he told Bernama.

Regionally, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.42 per cent to 23,393.32, South Korea’s Kospi soared 2.24 per cent to 5,859.08, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was 0.33 per cent lower at 63,081.86, and Singapore’s Strait Times Index was 1.36 per cent lower at 5,303.83.

Among the heavyweight stocks, Maybank fell four sen to RM9.98. Public Bank added four sen to RM4.79 and CIMB gained one sen to RM6.92, while Tenaga Nasional and IHH Healthcare were flat at RM13.30 and RM7.85, respectively.

Among the most active stocks, Zetrix AI slid half a sen to six sen, GIIB Holdings gained 14 sen to 50 sen, Top Glove was 1.5 sen lower at 96 sen, Ni Hsin climbed eight sen to 34 sen, and CTOS perked up half-a-sen to 39.5 sen.

Mega Fortris led the top gainers, surging 66 sen to RM2.88, Fraser & Neave garnered 32 sen to RM20.28, Petronas Dagangan improved 28 sen to RM19.78, MISC increased 27 sen to RM8.52, and Westports put on 25 sen to RM7.10.

Among the top losers, Vitrox erased 42 sen to RM10.48, Mi Technovation slipped 23 sen to RM6.30, Pentamaster and Solarvest lost 20 sen each to RM5.47 and RM4.11, respectively, while BLD Plantation dropped 18 sen to RM14.80.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 10.56 points to 12,072.30 and the FBM Top 100 Index advanced 15.42 points to 11,879.28.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index was 18.62 points higher at 12,101.53, while the FBM ACE Index decreased 60.92 points to 5,342.99 and the FBM Mid 70 Index gave up 33.10 points to 17,387.58.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.40 of a point to 178.77, the Financial Services Index strengthened 21.41 points to 18,569.40, and the Plantation Index climbed 4.81 points to 8,702.23, while the Energy Index slid 15.27 points to 836.89. 

The Main Market volume fell to 1.45 billion units worth RM1.88 billion from 1.87 billion units worth RM2.42 billion last Friday. 

Warrants turnover slipped to 877.58 million units worth RM102.50 million against 893.97 million units worth RM115.16 million previously.

The ACE Market volume dwindled to 322.03 million units valued at RM110.72 million from 384.14 million units valued at RM143.92 million on Friday.

Meanwhile, consumer products and services counters accounted for 226.05 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (280.42 million), construction (116.07 million), technology (362.25 million), financial services (54.66 million), property (80.43 million), plantation (19.92 million), real estate investment trusts (23.30 million), closed-end fund (32,500), energy (89.16 million), healthcare (97.81 million), telecommunications and media (24.03 million), transportation and logistics (45.40 million), utilities (34.54 million), and business trusts (40,100). — Bernama