KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 26 — Bursa Malaysia ended higher on Wednesday, in line with most regional markets, as lower oil prices eased inflationary pressure and improved risk appetite, with buying interest mainly focused on YTL-related and banking counters, an analyst said.
At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) surged 12.21 points to 1,748.54 from Monday’s close of 1,736.33.
The benchmark index opened 3.07 points higher at 1,739.40 and fluctuated between 1,735.70 and 1,753.22 throughout the day.
YTL Power International contributed 8.21 points to the index’s gains, while YTL Corporation added 3.23 points. Among banking counters, Maybank contributed 3.43 points, followed by CIMB Group with 2.30 points and Public Bank with 1.72 points.
Collectively, these counters contributed 19 points to the overall rise in the composite index.
On the broader market, gainers trounced losers 777 to 466, while 582 counters were unchanged, 1,029 untraded and 49 suspended.
Turnover widened to 4.17 billion units valued at RM4.23 billion from 3.60 billion units valued at RM3.03 billion on Monday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said although the market closed on a positive note, investors remain cautious as the recent gains were largely driven by selected index heavyweights while the broader market continued to lack a strong catalyst.
He said near-term sentiment will likely remain sensitive to Nvidia’s earnings and developments surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, with any setback in negotiations potentially triggering renewed volatility in crude oil prices.
“Nevertheless, continued buying interest in banking heavyweights and resilient domestic fundamentals should provide some downside support.
“As such, we expect the FBM KLCI to trade within the 1,735–1,755 range for the rest of the week,” he told Bernama.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank gained 16 sen to RM10.72, Public Bank was five sen higher to RM5.15, CIMB Bank increased 12 sen to RM8.08, IHH Healthcare went up eight sen to RM8.23, while Tenaga Nasional was flat at RM14.30.
Other heavyweights included YTL Power International which added 53 sen to RM5.90 and YTL Corporation rose 16 sen to RM2.58.
On the most active list, NationGate grew 21 sen to RM1.70, Zetrix AI was half a sen higher at 66 sen, Oppstar improved 11 sen to 81 sen, Ni Hsin perked 3.5 sen to 18 sen, VS Industry edged up half a sen to 22.5 sen and KPJ Healthcare lost 10 sen to RM2.70.
Top gainers included Malaysian Pacific Industries which surged RM1.18 to RM42.68, followed by Kelington improved 58 sen to RM8.94, Petronas Dagangan appreciated 52 sen to RM20.52, Hong Leong Industries widened 40 sen to RM17.92 and NationGate went up 21 sen to RM1.70.
Among the top losers, United Plantations decreased 60 sen to RM31.52, Batu Kawan shed 46 sen to RM20.54, Dutch Lady Milk Industries slipped 32 sen to RM31.68, Fraser & Neave depreciated 24 sen to RM26.30, and Ta Ann shed 18 sen to RM6.11.
For the broader indices, the FBM ACE Index rose 54.37 points to 5,352.95, the FBM 70 Index climbed 158.98 points to 18,228.22, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 37.59 points to 12,666.95.
The FBM Emas Index improved 97.26 points to 12,915.86, while the FBM Top 100 Index gained 94.45 points to 12,730.24.
By sector, the Financial Services Index leapt 185.34 points to 20,455.76, while the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.94 of a point to 188.00.
However, the Plantation Index fell 85.88 points to 9,424.55, while the Energy Index was 2.30 points lower at 775.14.
The Main Market volume expanded to 2.24 billion units valued at RM3.74 billion compared with 1.93 billion units valued at RM2.65 billion on Monday.
Warrants turnover increased to 1.21 billion units worth RM185.17 million versus 1.06 billion units worth RM142.28 million previously.
The ACE Market volume advanced to 718.04 million units valued at RM304.41 million from 608.82 million units valued at RM245.09 million on Monday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 363.29 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (617.29 million), construction (100.32 million), technology (434.02 million), financial services (101.49 million), property (165.88 million), plantation (52.85 million), real estate investment trusts (13.90 million), closed-end fund (403,900), energy (97.88 million), healthcare (102.21 million), telecommunications and media (26.23 million), transportation and logistics (56.17 million), utilities (112.62 million), and business trusts (286,800). — Bernama
Date: 26 August, 2026 6:20 pm
Source: Malay Mail
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